One of the things that has kept me so busy this summer is my new found love of sewing, quilting to be exact. That's right, you read that correctly; quilting. Would somebody please tell my grandmothers in heaven that I finally know how to work a sewing machine. One of the coolest ladies I know at church is a avid and very talented quilter. The Lord lead her to start a beginners class at church, and since she is so awesome, I took her class simply to hang out with several of my friends who wanted to actually learn how to quilt. Imagine my shock and surprise when it turned out I had a blast!
My first few quilt blocks were a little less than perfect........ ok, a lot less than perfect. There is this little thing called a quarter inch seam that, evidently, is pretty important. A couple of my blocks looked more like the drawings of a crazed pre-schooler on a three day sugar high than something created by an adult. The real problem came in when all the blocks were completed and it was time to put it all together. Who knew it would suddenly become so important that all the blocks be square and the same size?! I mean, really! I know have great respect for cuts that are actually straight and seams that are actually the same size.
The biggest problem I had was the fact that my seams were never straight. They looked more like the doodles I made as I sat in 9th grade algebra. It took a couple of weeks to figure out what I was doing wrong. It seems I was having a focus problem. I was watching the needle. I couldn't help it, I have always been fascinated by little dancing flashy things! What I wasn't doing was watching the fabric as it moved under the presser foot. (those of you who have ever worked a sewing machine know what that is, those of you who haven't just work with me here and pretend that you do!) As long as I was more careful about how my fabric moved towards the needle and less focused on the needle itself, my seams came out nice and straight, for the most part. (Hey! don't judge! only the Lord is perfect!)
Those of you who are familiar with me know there's more to the story. Once again, as I was musing, I realized the parallel to our walk with the Lord. I have said it before, you all know it's one of my favorite subjects, we become like what we focus on. Our hearts and our lives are changed as we spend time in His presence and focus on Him. You could say that our path becomes straight when we place our focus where it belongs, on Him and not on the dancing flashy things in our lives! If the enemy can cause us to lose our focus we will become adrift and without purpose. That's no way to live!
My prayer this week is that the Lord will remind me every time I sit down at my sewing machine to check my focus. Too many times in my life my path has resembled that preschooler doodle because of my tendency to be distracted by little shiny things! Where is your focus today? Where are you placing your eyes? Are you looking at the sparkly distractions in your life or is your focus firmly centered on Him? Don't be distracted by what the world tells you is right, look to Him and he will keep you on that straight path.
Meanwhile, I'll be here, happily sewing away and trying not to become hypnotized by the pretty, flashy needle! Till next time, I'll be,
Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor
