Friday Fun

KNITTING:

A creative mess

is better than tidy idleness. 

~Author Unknown

and who here among us had NOT had one of those days/weeks/months/years?  Can someone out there please help me understand WHY it is that when you pull your yarn from the center of the skein (just as the manufacturer recommends) it would seem that you pull the BIGGEST possible wad of knotted, matted fiberous TANGLE of teeny, tiny little hairs that have attached themselves to one another with such Super Glue force that not even the Jaws of Life can permeate them .. much less separate them into one long, continuous strand of knitting . . .  you KNOW that you know what i'm talking about .....   you are sitting and knitting and the creativity is flowing and you are working with a little 1 oz skein of the softest little baby yarn and all of a sudden the tension on your yarn would indicate that you have just caught a large mouth bass on the other end!  you tug, expecting this little knot to disintegrate and your knitting to continue but NO!  so you tug a bit more .... with a tad more PURPOSE in the pull and still NOTHING! .... so finally you flat out YANK it!  then,  SUDDENLY your arm is flying OVER your head as you pull out a GRAPEFRUIT of a knot from that soft, warm and fuzzy little ball of yarn that is no bigger around than a Clementine!  WHERE IN THE  WORLD DID THAT TANGLED MESS OF ???  COME FROM  . . . and WHAT MACHINE COULD POSSIBLY do THAT to the yarn!

But you know, we are reminded in I Kings that our days aren't always as they appear . . the knots and tangles that seem to be pulled out of nowhere, the bumps in the road that weren't visible just a few steps prior.  Just ask Elijah . . .

And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

it would seem that sometimes God uses those Grapfruit-sized knots to slow me down . . to get my attention focused back on HIM ... to remind me, as i'm working my way through the maze of yarn, that i have so MUCH to be thankful for .... and if i spend my time being grateful while working through that knot, then the tangled web of distraction soon dissolves into a pool of blessings when i realize that the Source of my Strength is Christ alone .... and He is sitting there with me ... working through the knots!  When i'm tempted to throw up my hands in disgust or weariness He has His Patience to infuse me ... and there are even times when He offers up His scissors to cut the knot and move me forward . . but He knows!  He longs to sit with me even in the midst of the jumbled and snarled complications i so often make of my day, and listen to me sing Praises to Him . . to have a grateful heart and wait patiently for the lessons He longs to teach me ...

and when i find myself focusing on Him, i really can begin to see the Creation that seems to be born from my creative mess . . .  tidy idleness leaves me sitting on a shelf with no yarn or needles or pattern . . Christ has redeemed me to serve . . and share . . . He has loosened those Knots of my past and rewound me into a beautiful ball of blessings, fit for His Kingdom and Yarn basket!   . . So,  . . . perhaps this week hasn't been such a bad thing after all . . . those knots have given me pause for reflection . .. . and upon closer inspection i can see that my Father is looking over my shoulder in that same water . . .

it doesn't get more secure than THAT!