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One Stitch At a Time

This past week I read an interesting footnote in my Bible. It said that followers of Jesus are not to separate themselves altogether from this world, but to act like yeast, causing the world's dough to rise, and that the whole purpose of God's laws and principles are to teach us how to repair the world.

Wow. Repair the world. That sounds like a tall order. I considered going down the rabbit trail to see where it would take me, but a few inquiries revealed that it would be quite a process. My brain was full and tired, so I didn't. Instead I sat and pondered the phrase "repairing the world."

What did it mean? How can any person fix the world? It sounded completely overwhelming. Then I started laughing because my favorite hobby is one of the most daunting and overwhelming things a person could possibly think of to do. I'm a quilter. I don't mean sewing the patches into patterns to make a beautiful top. That's called piecing. You piece the quilt top together. A quilt isn't a quilt until the top, a layer of batting, and a back are all stitched together, which is what I do. To do that, all three layers are pinned into a frame and then a quilter sits and very patiently stitches them together. To give more perspective on the task at hand, quilts can be as big as 120 inches by 120 inches. That's 10 feet long and 10 feet wide. Most quilts though are a tad smaller. When stretched to full capacity, a quilt can take up an entire room.

Now let's talk about the stitches. I can usually get about eight to nine stitches per inch unless the fabric is tough or there is an extra layer due to applique. Hand quilting is measured by the yards of thread that have been stitched into a quilt. Last year a friend marked an exquisite wholecloth quilt that our quilting group stitched. It was so intricate that when all was said and done, we had quilted 836 yards of thread into it. Maybe that doesn't sound too impressive. A football field is 100 yards long. In theory, we quilted inch by inch up and down an entire football field eight times. Now you see why I laughed at the overwhelming thought of repairing the world. Quilters eat "overwhelming" for breakfast.

So how are we to handle the monumental task of "repairing the world?" It's easy. Just do what is right in front of you. That's how we quilt. We simply do what's right in front of us and when we complete that little section, we scoot our chair over to the next bit. And we keep going and scooting and going and scooting until we get to the other end of the quilt and then we roll the quilt under on the frame. We do that over and over until the quilt is complete. We don't worry about the size of the quilt. (Ok, sometimes we do if we have a deadline.) We don't worry about how big it looks. We know the job will get done and that we can do it. For some reason, God gave us the talent, tenacity and fortitude so we know we're able. He'll do the same for you so don't be discouraged by the enormity of the task at hand. Just love the people who are around you. When you're able, widen your circle a little more. Reach out to someone new. Be spontaneous in your generosity and love. We have to do what's right in front of us before we can move on.

The next thing I pondered was: What exactly can we do? What are some things we could do to aid in the repair process? This would be a good time to clarify that God is who actually does the repairing. We are just his hands and feet. I, by myself, would make a bigger mess of things. But if I am carrying the light of Jesus in whatever manner God deems appropriate, then the focus is on the light and not on me and that's the goal. So what are some things we can do to shine that light?

How about we start with the most basic thought ever: Love the people you live with. Do your very best every day to do what you can for them, so they know you love them. Does that mean making sure they have a good meal, a warm/cool house, clean clothes? Does that mean telling them every single day how much you love them and appreciate them? Does that mean praying over them every day? Does that mean going to work to provide for them? There are so many things we can do just for the people we live with to make sure they know they're loved. It's good to start at home. Once you've got the people you live with sufficiently loved, take a look around and see who else is there. Neighbors, friends, people who work at the local businesses you frequent, teachers, doctors and nurses, people you run into regularly. Being nice to someone requires no money at all. Praying for someone doesn't cost a dime.

I've had occasion to ride with my husband to the scrap yard. When we got there, the man in charge pointed in a direction and told us to take our load "over there." We drove out to the middle of the scrap yard where he had pointed. There we found a fellow with a cutting torch, cutting up the scrap into smaller, more manageable pieces. There were huge piles all around him, some as high as a house, and there we were, dumping more onto the pile. His job will never end. The scrap never stops coming in, the piles will never get smaller. But there he is, every day, torch in hand, cutting up what's in front of him. It's possibly the most thankless job in the universe. I'm pretty sure he doesn't get a lot of accolades.

*If you're the guy with the torch and you're reading this, thanks for being an inspiration and shining the light (literally – it's a cutting torch!) Keep at it buddy, I'm cheering for you!

It is a colossal task, repairing the world. But don't be discouraged and don't be overwhelmed. Do what you can do, trust God and just keep at it.

 

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