A Woven Life

Do you suffer from "crafters-itis"? Well, I do. Don't laugh...it is a very serious condition! You find yourself examining anything hand-made, looking it all over, checking out the material, jotting down notes (of course, you always have a pencil and a small pad of paper in your purse, just for these times). Well, crafters-itis flares up on me quite often (more than I'd like to admit)and such was the case last summer when my husband and I were visiting a local hardware store.

I love this place...it is not your typical chain hardware store. It still has worn wide plank wooden floors and wooden countertops. Most items are stored in wooden boxes. It's the kind of place where you can get that part or item that you just can't find anywhere else. We were there looking for some little gadget for my husband's 20+ year old chainsaw. While he gabbed with the man behind the counter, I wandered into the canning section, looking for lids. Lo and behold, there, on the floor in the corner, was a pile of handmade doormats.
They were made out of fishing rope. Forget the canning lids, I had a new craft idea! I picked one up, looked it all over, and for the life of me couldn't figure out how it was made. My husband soon joined me, and told me that the rope was "float rope". He, too, looked it over, but couldn't really explain just how it was woven together either. It seemed to have no beginning and no end.

Well, to make a long story a bit shorter (I tend to ramble, as you can see!), it wasn't even a week later, while visiting friends that I discovered the secret. Many thanks, Holly! You see, she was making one of these doormats, and not only did she show me how...she also let me make one! It is made on a special loom...which my wonderful husband made for me. Now making them seems quite simple...when before I couldn't see how they could possibly be put together.


Isn't that the way with our relationship with Christ? So many of my Christian friends, particularly mothers with young children, are discouraged because they just don't seem to have much "quiet time" with Jesus. Our Christian culture bombards us with the latest and greatest program to get in your "30 minutes a day with God".But God isn't prepackaged, and most who try this method find that it just doesn't bare fruit.

You see, I believe that God needs to be woven into every part of our lives. He needs to be the "rope" that holds us firm and secure and anchors us through all the trials and tribulations of this world Just as my doormat seems to have no beginning and no end, our relationship with our Lord and Savior should not be scheduled into a part of our day, it should be the focus of our whole day. Paul instructs us in I Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing". Truthfully, it is more difficult to restrict our time with God to a "quiet time" than it is to spend time with God
at every possible moment of the day. Would we tell our husband or our children that we only have time for them between 7 AM and 7:30 AM? I don't think so...not if we wanted to cultivate a loving, intimate relationship. Why should it be any different with the One who gave His life for us?
What do you think?