When straight stitches need to bend

  Walking in a sea of fall leaves this morning in our forest, I was reminded how quickly the bright vibrant colors fade. Just last week, the trees were putting on a brilliant show. As someone who loves to wear the deep fall colors, I am in heaven. Despite all the uncertainty due to the recent election results, I am enjoying the gentle breeze on my front porch.

Working on a jean jacket yesterday, I came across a challenge in sewing. How do I make a white Gerbera daisy look lifelike on a denim jacket? I had to make the stitches bend. A needle stitch is naturally straight. How could I make a stitch bend? Over time, I had learned how to make a straight line curve with lots of tiny stitches that gently followed the angle. But, I didn’t have much room in the center of the daisy. However, I had an idea of something I had tried in the past: multiple colors. “What if I combined them?” The multiple colors combined with the small stitches did the trick!

Last night Dan and I listened to a sermon where the pastor talked about how all of Jesus’s parables about the Kingdom of God are Jesus’s explanation for our relationship with Him. This was an epiphany to me. I was reminded of the mustard seed parable in Mark 4:30–32:

New International Version The Parable of the Mustard Seed 30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

All creativity is a gift from God. Often times it happens in our subconscious mind. As we think and reflect on a problem, a solution sometimes just bubbles up. We have an “aha moment.” This is why I say, “It never hurts to pause.” If we give ourselves time, we can usually overcome the challenge we are facing.

This is also how Jesus works in our lives as well. Only King Jesus can see the eternal design for each of us, and I am learning to trust the moments when He needs to make my stitches bend. Our relationship with Jesus requires trusting His timing and invisible work when circumstances look small or slow to change.