Deuteronomy 31:8 “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged”
Did you ever have a time in your life where you felt that everything was coming apart? Or you felt you were coming apart? I’ve had that kind of horrid time. I felt everything in my life was falling apart and so was I. The “coming apart” reminded me of an incident that happened many years ago.
I was about 14 and I was starting a sewing class. I had some sewing experience but that didn’t prepare me for this class. My project was pajamas. I did not expect an exercise in patience by having to wait forever for an available sewing machine. Then, I found each machine was very different from the one I had used at home. But I was finally able to complete the pajamas. I brought them home stuffed them into my bottom dresser drawer where I intended for them to stay and never be seen again.
But fate would intervene by way of my sister. She was invited to a sleepover party and decided her pjs were not good enough so, unbeknownst to me, she rummaged through my drawers and…did you guess it? Yep, she grabbed the pjs I hid!
When she came home the next morning, she was not happy and she let me know it. As she described it to me (in a very angry & loud voice) first the pocket fell off. Then a sleeve fell off. Then the other sleeve started to go. She screamed that she was falling apart at every seam as piece by piece the pjs began to unravel. I just remember laughing.
I told her I knew the stitching wasn’t going to hold. The sewing machines in class were heavily used and you never sewed on just one machine and every machine had its particular malfunction. Depending on the machine, the stitching length would be erratic. The tension didn’t work correctly. The needle would get stuck or break. The thread would bunch up under the fabric. Each disaster provided a garment that is not really ‘stitched together’.
I felt like those pajamas. I was unraveling bit by bit at the seams. Time to sit and be still…to go to God for strength.
The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but theLord delivers him out of them all. – Psalm 34:17-19
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the unraveling because it reminds me to tie a knot and hold on tight. I know that You are there to hold me, mend me and stitch me back together better than before. Amen.
