Casandra Martin

It is embarrassing, really. I wanted to make a special wedding present for someone I love. I picked out the fabric, carefully sorted the different thread colors, studied the pattern, and imagined the smiles, oohs and aahs that would erupt when the gift was opened.

The pattern was rather intricate. There was a place for the couple’s initials, a beautiful landscape scene with a house nestled in a rich palette of colors. In the center, really the core of the design, was a heart. The rest of the picture flowed from the heart.

I got started, excited to see progress. The heart was the first thing to sew. I worked on it diligently. I couldn’t wait for the design to start taking shape. I finally finished the heart, and noticed that it was just a little bit off center. I stared at it for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. Tear it out and start over or just keep going? I knew it wasn’t right, but impatience and time pressure won out. I decided to keep going. I figured no one was going to notice once the whole thing was put together.

Wrong.

The entire pattern revolved around the heart. Everything was measured and sewn from the placement of the heart. I didn’t realize it until I got to the edges. The entire picture was skewed. The small heart mistake at the center threw the entire design off, its crookedness magnified in each piece as it moved outward. I should have read Ecclesiastes 3:7a – “…a time to tear, and a time to sew;”

My Jesus Resolution today is to remember the lesson of the crooked heart. Sometimes I don’t want to take the time or make the effort to tear the little things out of my heart that make it crooked. They seem like such little things in the moment. I would rather sew vibrant colors, create joy, and see progress. But it doesn’t take much to throw God’s whole design for me off center. Good sewing often requires some good tearing. Taking the time to tear can keep my heart from becoming crooked and ruining the picture of Jesus He is creating in me.