Sew on!

Today’s Reading: Acts 13:22 NIV

22 After removing Saul, [God] made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

Good morning!

I’ve decided to take up knitting again. It is good therapy for my right hand, which seems to short circuit daily. After a fall I took at home last August, I’ve had ongoing difficulty with two of my fingers. The old adage, “use it or lose it” still rings true. My pretty kitty Faith is captivated by the yarn. She likes to grab and paw at the yarn just when I’m beginning to make progress. Have you ever been distracted by someone who purposefully tries to slow your momentum? Faith is much happier, now that she has a ball of yarn to play with.

An automobile license plate captivated my attention last week, as I was driving down the highway. The plate simply said, “Sew on.” I presumed that the owner of the vehicle loved to stitch. Whenever my extended family gathered together on the weekends, the boys would all go fishing, and the girls, which included my grandmother, mother and aunts would sit in the living room with crochet hooks and knitting needles, stitching away while laughing at each other’s stories. I still remember Aunt Pauline’s laugh – it was contagious! My grandmother liked to tat, an almost lost art today. She tatted edging for pillow cases, sheets and blankets. My mother liked to knit sofa throws; while my aunt made beautiful baby sweaters, bonnets and booties for young mothers in her church. My sister weaved potholders on a plastic loom, and I practiced my knitting skills by making hats, scarves and mittens. Whenever I dropped a stitch, my grandmother would make me rip it out and begin again. Giving your best effort always meant going back and recapturing that one lost stitch.

Paul was sewing a seed of faith as he spoke with great conviction to the men and women gathered in the synagogue. He was repeating their history and capturing the listeners’ hearts. It was imperative to convey the importance of their faith traditions and history to better understand and accept the coming of Jesus, the promised One of God. He is the “Son of David,” a man after God’s own heart. Not to lose anyone in the room, Paul made sure not to leave out any important detail that might cause his brothers to disbelieve the truth.

Our world is full of inquisitive folk; all are seeking the Truth of the matter. It is not easy to refute the cynics and scoffers and those who refuse to see the bigger picture because of some minute detail they cannot let go. Paul chose to sew seeds of faith, knowing that his human words may very well fail; but the power of the Holy Spirit would prevail. He did not miss a stitch; Paul was devoted to reaching every heart with the Good News of salvation, offered through Christ Jesus.

If you are fearful that your faith sharing is falling on deaf ears, may I encourage you to pick up your crochet hook, or a pair of knitting needles, and sew on! Share your faith story with the people in your life - your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, peers. Do not let another opportunity to tell others about Jesus pass you by. Find a new way to share Christ’s love so they will understand. If they can see the relationship between their past, and all that His future holds for them, the Holy Spirit will work in and through your humble words to convey Truth to a culture desperately seeking hope today.

Sew on!

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

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