sew in love with sewing.

one of my goals for 2009 was to sew a dress. why? just for fun! i like being crafty, and most of all, i like creating things with my hands. so not only did a dress seem perfect for this project, but alas! it is summertime, and summertime means summer dresses! (sort of.)

anyway, my excited little fingers started cutting patterns, thumbing through sewing instructions, pinning ruffles, and changing thread. finally, they created THIS:

yes! a summer dress!--complete with cute bow-tie-strap thing on the back (not pictured). and ok ok, so it looks more like an easter dress than a summer dress. but nevertheless! my very first dress! sewn with my very own hands! and a sewing machine!

so after this momentous feat...were my fingers satisfied?? no! they wanted to create more! so on they went, busy busy busy... to create:

  A BABY'S BUBBLE DRESS!

PAJAMA SHORTS!

A PLAID JUMPER!

AN iPHONE POUCH!

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

...all this, to say that i have fallen in love with sewing. and boy, have i graduated from the quilts-and-pillows level of sewing expertise. i am now proud to say that i am officially...a seamstress! so one day, when i have my own house, i will fill it...with home-made pillows, throw blankets, curtains, placemats, and other hand-crafted doodly-doos. and also, one day, when i have my own children, i will clothe them...with home-made dresses, shirts, and shorts (i am not at the pants, hats, or jackets level yet)!

sigh..! what wonderful talents God has given us. :] creating all of these things with my hands have reminded me much of the God who created us with His hands. if i, a little human bean, can sew these little things with such patience, care, and love...how much more has He, the Creator of the universe, patiently, carefully, and lovingly stitched together each one of us? and just as each of my "creations" are unique in their own way, so are we each unique in our own way too. i'm soo, so grateful to be in love with a Maker who saw me before i was even conceived, who knit me in my mother's womb, and who knows me more deeply than anything...for His "excited little fingers" drew the plan for my life, and His hands molded me, and His Spirit is poured into mine. what little treasures we each must be to Him!

in conclusion...
i am thankful for the Ultimate Sartor (did you know that's what a male seamstress is called? that, and Seamster, and Tailor. i like Sartor best though), who made me with Love. i am also thankful for my mother's industrial sewing machine.

Oswald Chambers parallels our relation with God with the illustration of an Archer with a bow and arrow. God (the Archer) pulls and stretches us (the bow and arrow), with a target, a purpose in sight. We do not see this target, but He does. Sometimes we want to say, "Enough! I can't take it anymore!" but He pays no attention; He continues to keep His steady gaze, straining until the target is in sight, and then finally letting the arrow fly. It is then that we, the bow, can finally rest in the arms of our Archer; It is then that we, the arrow, can finally feel the elation of flying. And, at last, we see the target; we understand the purpose.

Chambers uses this depiction to encourage us to persevere through the pull and strain in our lives. But allow me to take his illustration one step further. God, in his strength and patience, never gives up. He is modeling for us what it means to persevere. How many times does He hear our cry to end the pain, to take away the strain? How many times does He see and feel our hurt--for just as the Archer strains the bow and arrow, so also does He pull and strain His fingers, His arms? Yet He remains steadfast. He continues to aim for that which we cannot see, knowing that in the end, it is well worth it--because we are well worth it.

I don't think Chambers meant for this little devotional to depict so clearly the love of a God for His people, a Father for His children. Because in this simple illustration, I see a complete picture of what it means to be His. I see that many times in our lives, we feel stretched to the uttermost...yet we are still in His loving arms, and He reminds us quietly that there is a purpose. And how wonderful that purpose is! When He lets us whiz through the air, the exhiliration of truly feeling and experiencing God's purpose in our lives is incomparable. We only need to persevere. And, we don't even have to do it alone, for God is persevering with us.

So this is my encouragement to you-- persevere through the strain, and remember that God is holding you in His arms even still. Remember that He has a purpose, there is a goal, and to finally experience it will be wonderful.

Currently Listening Worth It All By Rita Springer Worth It All see related

WOG

just a few thoughts before i hustle off to class--

remember when we desperately wanted to be the best Woman of God that the Ld wanted us to be?  remember when we made lists of the characteristics we should have, when we prayed hard for those things to be grown in us, when we memorized proverbs 31 so that these things could be written on the tablet of our hearts?

i remember. and i want to run that much harder again.

a wife of noble character who can find? she is worth far more than rubies...

i think that in these last few days, Gd's really been breaking my heart for the things that hurt Him.  things like.. incorrect labelling and categorizing and stereotypes that funnel disadvantaged students toward failure instead of encouraging them to reach their potential.  or things like.. friends who are currently experiencing the deepest pain of their lives.  or things like.. immigrant students who have to face a huge barrier to their success because they must learn to function in an entirely new culture and language.  or things like.. the poverty and the devastation that occurred years (yes, years!) ago in New Orleans but has not yet been restored.

sigh.

all of this has been so heavy on my heart in just the past two days.. so i'm wondering if Gd is trying to tell me something through it all.  i wonder if He's asking me to seek out the places and people that are hurting, to find the injustice that exists all around me, and to do something about it.  i wonder if He's creating new passions in my heart, new loves to pursue, new ways to run after Him.  i think He is...and i want to pr'yerfully and humbly and actively respond.  i want to hear His voice among the noisiness of my head.  i want to submit my own plans to Him.  i hope to be led by the hand to places where He wants to bring me..

so please pr with me through this time :)