Underneath the Tapestry

Life is a journey.  

These words are the mantra of life around here.   In fact, it is so much a part of life around here, that when choosing a name for my blog, it became the overall theme to this blog.   Our Present Quest.   The day to day activities and events that make up the overall journey of life and how we respond to them.   I don't want to end my life standing before God the same person that I was yesterday or the day before.   I want to be a person who has changed and grown, and hopefully, tomorrow becoming a better person than I was today.

Don't get me wrong.  That focus isn't always easy to keep, and there are days where I can't wait for the sun to set so that I can crawl into bed and forget the day.   There are weeks where each day feels like an eternity and I find myself asking, "Is it really only (insert day of the week)?"

We are in the middle of one of those weeks.   "Isn't it Friday yet?"  Unfortunately, this week follows a couple of weeks that have felt the same.  While preparing lessons for the month of May, I find myself in the strange time warp of "May already?!?!" and "It has been a long month!"   I can never quite understand how time can be like that, slipping away so fast, and yet, dragging by at the exact same time.

Photo Credit: kslyesmith

Life seems to be chaotic, messy, busy, and in someways changing at a rapid speed.   I wonder why it all is happening now, in the space of a couple of weeks to a month.   Why can't we space this out a little?   Maybe I would handle it a little better?   Maybe I could embrace (remember that is my word for this year?) each change fully and know for sure and for certain that each change was not made by a drastic quick decision?  

 Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working out that way this time.  I find that all I can do is grab tightly to His hand, and follow.   I want to keep my eyes open for as much of the ride as I can right now, but I find comfort in the fact that when I can't take anymore, He is in control and He will guide me.   



Sometimes, we stumble upon something, written by someone else, and you think that it was written just for you.   Today, Mark sent me a link to a post, that was written today by a gentleman I don't know, and yet, the post is so timely in my life, as if it were written just for me.  

Michael Hyatt writes today about how our life is like a tapestry.   It is well written, and I encourage you to check out the full post here.   I want to share with you the part that really spoke to me this morning.  

"It made me also think again how much life is like a tapestry. Corrie ten Boom originally introduced me to this metaphor.

As it unfolds in real time, it’s like viewing the backside of a tapestry. It appears to be nothing more than a jumble of thread—tangled, frayed, occasionally knotted, and seemingly random. Nothing really makes sense. It’s no wonder people lose heart, give up, and abandon their commitments.

But things are not always what they seem.

It’s only when you turn a tapestry over that you see the art: the rich colors, the texture, and the patterns that can make a tapestry a thing of astonishing beauty.

Likewise, occasionally God gives us a glimpse at what He is weaving into the fabric of our lives. That momentary peek at glory gives us the courage to soldier on, knowing that nothing happens by accident.

No thread of experience—good or bad—is wasted. When it appears to be that way, we just have to remind ourselves that we are simply looking at the backside of a tapestry. And the One weaving it together, knows precisely what He is doing."

In this time when life is complicated and I am asking God the question "Why?"  It helps to remember that I don't always see the big picture or the top of the tapestry.   Rather, I am in the middle of the story, in the middle of the weaving, seeing one color or one thread at a time.  

In remembering that, my comfort lies in the weaver or the master story teller.   He knows the big picture, and He knows the outcome of the journey that I am on.