Thoughts from Crocheting

Over the years a few people have asked me what I have learned from observing our pet doves. I haven’t really been able to give a good answer yet, but in thinking on this I got to wondering what one could learn from crocheting…or at least, what correlations could be drawn between it and life. One night, when I actually got to bed on time, instead of going to sleep my mind drifted to this topic. So here is what I came up with: the skein of yarn is somewhat like a person before they become a Christian—no real purpose in their present state, but if a person lets Christ enter their life and mold them according to His will, just as a needle (or hook) is needed to make the yarn into something useful, they have a purpose and reason for living and can be a blessing to others, just as a needle makes yarn into shawls, blankets, slippers, etc. which are things that are useful and lovely. Also just as there are many different types of yarn, so there are many types of people in the world and different people fulfill diverse rolls in life: one person may be a preacher, another a teacher, another a servant, another a help-meet, etc., so the crocheter uses a specific type of yarn for a certain project (Romans 12:6-8). You may use Caron Simply Soft yarn on a blanket or shawl but most likely you will not use it on a pair of slippers. The needle or hook, too, is often a varied size based on what we desire to create, so Christ uses different tools and circumstances in each of our lives to test us and to mold us into His image and likeness. When the hook is removed from an uncompleted work the stitches can very easily be undone--I’m not saying here that Christ can be removed from our life, but we can decide to take our eyes off of Him--Christians can backslide when they take their eyes off Christ. Stitches can be redone and the work continued--and Christians can be forgiven and can turn their eyes back to Christ, but time is wasted and scars from our mistakes last for a lifetime.

The thought also came to me that just as one stitch is not very strong or useful by itself, so Christians who are not in church and surrounding themselves with mature believers will struggle. In Hebrews 10:25 we are told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is—referring to going to church. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 and Proverbs 27:17. There is also the fact that the yarn as one long strand, not made into something, is only as strong as its weakest point, and so are we in the strength of our flesh. Those who have received Jesus as their Savior have His grace and strength to depend on and thus are stronger than their flesh’s weakness and failings.

No matter what yarn or hook is used though, the desired end result is always the same: a complete project that is useful and beautiful, and in like fashion, Christ’s desire for our lives is to form us into a complete (mature) Christian, not doing things in our own strength or in our own way, but resting fully on the Savior’s strength, submitted to Him, and committed to doing things His way and bringing glory to His name.