who's got the remote?

if my husband is home .... the tv is on.  FACT!  and 9 times out of 10 he is sitting and watching the tv.  he's a nite owl so he watches tv, or dvds, or reruns, or infomercials .... something is ALWAYS playing for him to watch.  and as life would have it, i still don't have quite the same level of "appreciation" for that many opportunites to sit in front of a box and watch it.  Thus . . . i learned . . . to knit!

now -  granted, there are times when it's nice to get lost in the suspence of an intriging movie ... or sit and cry like a girl at a great chick-flick ... laughing an at old comedy from my childhood or whistling with andy griffith while they are walking to go fishing .....  and of course ... ANYTHING HGTV counts as Worthy Time investments .....  but all the rest of the Viewing Grid becomes a measure for my knitting projects.  you know what i mean:  if it's a new movie that i want to watch and haven't seen before then i may choose some basic yarn and just sit and knit a scarf that requires NO thinking and NO pattern reading!  if it's a rerun of a sitcom then i might work on a simple sweater project where i a can make notes on the rows i've completed, not get too lost in the instructions and still follow the premise of the show ALL at the same time.   but then, there are those tv shows (usually sports) that allow me hours to work on lace ... i can read the chart, maintain my place in the pattern AND on my needles and nod in approval or cheer on demand when the time is appropriate! 

i have learned the hard way that the intricacies of lace require a commitment of time and focus ... AND attention to detail ... i have to THINK ... i have to CONCENTRATE .... and i have to have the quiet option with no distractions in order to make things work.  and it would appear that my daily walk with the Lord shadows this very process as well.  Some of the journey is filled with "sweater knitting" as i sit at work and greet people that walk through the front doors of our school.  Answering the phones, greeting the guests are, for the most part, second nature but leave room for me to be aware of God's Presence without clinging to Him for reassurance.  He has equipped me for those moments and i can rest in them.  

However there are THOSE times when the day is anything BUT comfortable .... you've had them:  if it CAN go wrong ,,, it WILL .... time and time and time again!  [all within 30 minutes it seems like!] ... and at THOSE moments i find myself wanting to run for some 'scarf knitting' where i just go through the motions but don't really have to think .... however .... the Truth of the matter is that in the midst of the worst of times God is calling me to knit 'lace' with Him!  To focus solely on His design and get lost in His Calming demeanor rather than being engulfed by the turbulence and outer conflicts ..... 

Somehow chaos and lace don't mix .. and yet ... knowing that when i run to Him, Jesus brings order to each row of lace that He is knitting in my day .... His lace is filled with increases and decreases, yarn overs and knit 2 togethers ... at times there is simple knitting and purling ... and then He adorns the row with a variation on His theme .... Trust and Obey .... Knit and Purl .... grab the remote, Change the channel and see what is showing on His Network!

Humble yourselves, therefore,
   under God's mighty hand,
     that He may lift you up
             in due time.
                      
                            Cast all your anxiety on Him 
                                   for He cares for you.
                                         I Peter 5:6-7