Yarn = Yoga

healing ... therapy .... and FREE! 

Effective October 1st the cost of my medical insurance is being raised (imagine That!) ..... AND the cost of my deductible will now be $30 rather than $20.  Now, i realize that in the big scheme of things that i am blessed beyond measure to even HAVE insurance ... and that further blessings come from having a JOB every single day that provides me with enough 'options' that i can even complain or whine about things ....

BUT .... seems to me that i should have the RIGHT to spend my co-pay on Therapy in a better way ... and still be re-imbursed for it!  For you see, i have found that as a knitter, there's nothing more soothing and restoring than Yarn Therapy!  Some days that may mean just having the TIME to roam aimlessly in the yarn shop, looking at all the rows and baskets and displays of yarn and projects completed in such sumptuous colors and textures.  Then, there are also times when i find my blood pressure lowering and my overall mood transforming when i have the privilege of just Sitting ... and holding a Ball of Yarn in my hands.  My sensory 'healing' begins once that cashmere or silk, or on a bad day just good ol' acrylic, makes contact with my fingers, which then signals my brain to dwell on the steady and consistent 'process' of knitting, one stitch at a time, one row at a time, back and forth, back and forth ..... perhaps this is the Yoga of Yarn ....

$20 can buy a really NICE skein of sock yarn and within a week i actually have something tangible to SHOW for my time of therapy ..... so why can't i submit my yarn receipts along with my other prescriptions for tax breaks and consideration, i ask you?  And the bliss - the giddiness - of finding a dream yarn ON SALE - - a Wonder Drug in and of itself, i tell you!  Knitting ......  such a simple pleasure, that's easily transported and can be whipped out for ANY medical emergency!  It's the ideal "insurance card" and "preventative" medicine there is ... i never leave home without it!

BUT ..... if knitting has such calming effects of restoration, how much MORE am i reminded of the promises of the Lord when it comes to True Insurance ... with No Co-Pays or out of pocket expenses (at least on my part!)  I run and grab my knitting to help "settle" things at times ... but how much MORE peace can i find and know when i run to Him.  His desire and Promise is to NEVER leave me ... to be with me ALWAYS .. not just at His convenience or when there's a break in His schedule ..... But with Every Breath i Take ... He fills it!  And His Word is like a Yarn Shop of luxurious Promises ... verse after verse of rich, cashmere-ish accounts of His availability ..... Chapter upon Chapter of extravagant examples of His steadfast love that wraps around me like a lush merino wool stole ..... authors who have witnessed and now share from 1st hand experience the authenticity of God's peace ... not something to dream of ... but Someone to make my dreams come true!  The Healer!

Matt: 28:20 ... and surely I AM with you always, to the very end of the age.
Gen. 28:15    I AM with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back
                     to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
Isa. 54:10    Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you
                    will NOT be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has
                    compassion on you.
John 14:27   I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the
                    world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.

Just a few of the rich choices He has left for me to browse through - - to be able to touch and feel and knit into the very fibers of my being .... O taste and SEE that the the Lord is good!  Christ Jesus IS my co-pay!   His death and resurrection has paid for my eternity ... and for the peace that passes all understanding .... now THAT's the ultimate insurance!  But like any beautiful skein of yarn, unless i accept it .... use it .... apply it to the needles of my every day, His peace does me no good simply left on the shelf or in the "basket" of my Bible.  His love longs to be USED by me .... and He assures me that when i finish allowing Him to infuse me ... i'll have the perfect fit!  He IS my pattern .. and my peace!