You want to pull it, but you know you shouldn’t. That dangling thread on the seam of your clothes is bugging you. Does that describe your life?
I looked down and saw it. Arghh. Now would everyone see it? Would it snag on things through the day? A broken strand of thread dangled out of the seam. And I was running late.
Do I pull it? Is it worth the risk unraveling the whole hem?
Tape it? Most likely it wouldn’t hold very long.
Snip it? A temporary fix, but that wouldn’t solve the issue of the broken thread unraveling again. I knew the integrity of the stitch had been compromised. But it might give me time to deal with it later…when I get the chance.
Things in our lives can feel as if they are starting to unravel. What we have carefully hemmed together is starting to tear. What do we do about it? Do we yank at the problem to get rid of it quickly and take the chance of it all falling apart? If we tug, it might reveal more and more that has become untied.
Do we tape it and hide the issue from others, hoping it will stay beneath the surface. Then go one about our business as if it is fixed?
Or do we snip at it each time it appears, never really investing the time to dealing with it properly?
Do we rush to discard that piece of clothing, put on something else, and toss it in the to-be-meded pile?
Or do we actually stop, take time to tie it, stitch it back, and secure it so it doesn’t happen anymore?
I once heard that a day knotted with prayer at both ends won’t unravel. Paul says it this way:
The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. I Colossians 1:5 (MSG)
When something snags in our lives, we need to deal with that 
dangling thread lest it unravel us. Hope, bolstered by prayer, is the best way to re-anchor our faith. We need to allow our Lord to be the needle which can guide the wayward thread and knot it so it doesn’t affect the rest of the hem that is our life.
That may mean stopping what we are doing in order to handle it. It may involve a few pricks of our conscience as His needle deals with the transgression, anger or guilt. Perhaps it will cause us to halt in our tracks and not go further until we are sure it is dealt with properly.
But unless it is resolved correctly, that dangling thread tickling our conscience will bother us over and over until we are forced to deal with it. And by that time, the things hemming our lives might be starting to unravel enough that it shows.
When my mother was a child, it came out to the second tuft of branches you see, the ones hanging down toward the water by the backdrop of the white cement of the “old dock”. When I was a child, it had grown to the length of the third tufts, right under where you see the blue raft perched on the dock. When my son was a child, it had grown to the little notch before it bows up again. He is now in his thirties.
I stacked the boxes in the back of my closet, stretched the kink from my lower spine, and walked back into the living room.
it has been for the past four years. May this blog be filled to His glory this year with ways I’ve found God in my daily journey so you can be encouraged to seek Him in your day as well.
When he opened the bag, a ladybug flew out. It landed on his hand.
Perhaps the grackle saw it’s reflection in the sunscreen-filmed glass, or maybe a juicy bug crawled up the door. I couldn’t be sure. But the bird pecked on the door then waddled back a few steps, cocked its head, and once again approached and pecked the glass.
In our worship, right before we receive communion, there is a prayer in which we tell our Lord we know we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under His table, but He always draws us near in mercy. It is in reference to the Canaanite woman who boldly told Jesus even dogs get crumbs from the master’s table. (Matthew 15:27) Jesus commended her for her faith and answered her prayer. It reminds us worshipers that we also are in need of mercy but must have the bold faith to ask for it.
Like a mowed field…
Sometimes, does not out precious Lord do the same for us? This week, a group of authors were mowed down – now we will be more lush and perhaps a bit stronger in our faith. I know soon we will all blossom in ways we never imagined.
I downloaded a solitaire card game onto my computer. Each day it has a “win-able” hand you can choose to play. But often times, there are multiple choices. Move the card to the wrong stack or the wrong stack to a blank space and you might get stuck. Then a message pops up. “This is a winning hand. Do you want to replay or be shown how to win?” Most times, I choose replay. I want to figure it out for myself. A few times, I have ended up exasperated enough that I let the computer show me how to win.
overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). His mercy is newly provided every morning. (Lamentations 3:23) He will restore my life. (Psalm 17:20).
I read something this morning that reminded me so much of you I had just to let you know. The reading was about a woman who watched a spider build its web while she was sitting on the porch. The spider’s web was reflected by the sunlight. The web had three strong anchors: one to the top of the railing and two attached to the side rails. As she rested and read, she watched the little spider spin its web.
and love. Hunker down into God’s mighty grace and you, too, will glisten. And what a witness it will be.
My tablet gave me a soft beep-beep. A warning came on the screen. Low battery. Time to plug it into the charger. If only our spirits came with such a warning…perhaps they do.
day, zombie-like, and not due to lack of sleep, I felt drained of energy. At times like these, I can almost hear a small beep-beep sounding in my soul. “Come back to the charger. Return to my Word. Fill up on my promises and love. Renew your strength. Pray.”
When I was in London several years ago, there were signs reminding people to be aware of the gap between the platform and the subway car. “Mind the Gap” paraphernalia was everywhere, so I bought a magnet as a memento. I stuck it on my fridge.
knowledge of all things eternal stands outside of our wisdom and knowledge of only this moment and our memory-colored past. He sees it all, past present and future, beyond the shackles of time. He knows. That is why Jesus stated, “I am the Way.”
Where Did You Find God Today? 