The Weaver

This morning as I was reading my devotions, I read this: "In your prayers, above all else, beware of limiting God, not only through unbelief but also by thinking you know exactly what God can do. Learn to expect the unexpected, beyond all that you think or ask. So each time you intercede through prayer, first be quiet and worship God in His flory. Think of what he can do, how He delights in Christ His Son and of your place in Him - then expect great things. Our prayers are God's opportunities." 

So I did exactly as I was instructed: Instead of starting my laundry list of prayer requests; First, I was quiet.  And in that quietness, the words of a poem came to mind. 

Ever since 8th grade, I have carried a poem in my billfold.  Every time I transfer purses or billfolds, it gets transferred as well. It was given to me by one of my youth group leaders. It's a little beat up. But it is a poem I have committed to memory, and it has helped me through some tough circumstances. 

"The Weaver"

My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me.

I cannot choose the colors,

He worketh steadily.

Oftimes He weaveth sorrow,

And I in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I, the underside.

Not til the loom is silent,

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hands

As the threads of gold and silver 

In the pattern He has planned.

As I sat in the chair, I thought, All of history is one long tapestry. This makes perfect sense since God, after all, is the Creator - the Maker of Art and Beauty. Weaving, by definition, is also an art.  From the very beginning, He has been weaving the tapestry - adding colors (including threads of gold and silver) "in the pattern He has planned."  The weaving decisions are not random or made of whim; He knows full well what the finished product will look like, and He continues to work to that end.

I am a thread of a particular, and intentional, hue and texture. Without my thread, the pattern, the tapestry, would be incomplete. My thread has been placed carefully in just this time and place in the tapestry. The same is true for every human. 

Thus, each thread in the tapestry is beautiful, necessary, and as it should be. 

As beautiful as our threads are, mankind is problematic.  We snag the canvas. We pull, stretch, and sometimes break other threads. We stain the tapestry.  Our willfulness tampers with the original design. 

Even so, God takes it all in stride. He knows the desired end product, and will make sure that is what it will be in the end. Somehow, He takes those stains and snags; somehow, he joins broken threads and weaves them into a design in such a way that the beauty is not marred, and in fact, showcases the Weaver's skills even more. 

This reminds me of a comment I recently saw on social media.  I belong to some online quilting groups on Facebook, and I was looking at a quilt block that someone had posted.  The person wanted feedback regarding a "flaw" on the block. She wanted to know if she should pull it all apart and fix it. One comment jumped off the page and has stayed with me. The commenter was adamant that the woman leave the block as is.  She said, "It's art. It's not meant to be perfect. It's meant to show the human story of the work. The imperfections and minor mistakes are a part of the process." 

It's art.  It's meant to show the human story of the work. The imperfections and minor mistakes are a part of the process.  

God seems to view His tapestry and us in much the same way.  As humans, we are going to make mistakes - major and minor. Those mistakes, as well as the ensuing guilt, shame, forgiveness, repentance and redemption, are all a part of the human story, or tapestry. They are a part of the whole, but they are not the end product. 

Likewise, those imperfections do not diminish the beauty or magnificence of the Creator's Work of Art. Whatever He makes is perfect. Genesis 1: 31 confirms this: "God saw all that He had made, and it was good." 

Although I only see the underside of the tapestry right now, I look forward to the day when God unrolls the canvas, and shows me the finished product. It is then that I will see how all the dark and bright blended to display the talent, wisdom and artistry of the Creator.

"Learn to expect the unexpected. . .then, expect great things."