YARN ART

TODAYS SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 3:13

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

YARN ART

Our favorite nine-year-old grandson, Nathan, loves to do art stuff. We are never sure exactly what we will do or how it will look, but we sure have fun as we sit at the table creating and talking. Some days it is watercolor. Sometimes markers. One day he told about his art class making a picture with yarn. While he worked with watercolors, I got out the yarn and a needle. Because I did not have a pattern to follow, Nathan did not think I was doing my project correctly. I told him, "I am not sure how this is going to turn out. Guess we will see."

This is how it turned out.

Nathan took one look and said, "What is that?" And, by the tone of his question, I could tell he was not impressed.

As I looked at my creation, I saw my life. The orange yarn, starting in the top left corner is my life. It is not straight. There is one place where it is sideways. My life has been like that. All lives are. We hit snags. We make detours. Sometimes we just have to be in one place. Sideways. Waiting to get back on track.

See the white yarn? White represents the people who have been in my life since the beginning or for most of it. Family. Husband. Children. These people have had the greatest influence on my life. They helped craft my personality.

Notice the red yarn? Red is for the people who were in my life early. My grandmother taught me so much before she died. She was in my life until I was a freshman in high school. Also, childhood friends. People who, because of death or circumstances, are no longer in my life.

Notice the brown yarn? See how it is there at the first and again later? Brown represents people who have been important at different stages of my life. Teachers. Additions to our family. Or people I did not meet until I was 40. Or 50. Or 60.

Look for the black yarn. Sometimes a person can influence my life by just walking through it. A chance encounter with a homeless man in Tucson, Arizona. A stranger who gives me a smile just when I need it. Hearing about the tragedy in one person's life, I do not take for granted the blessings in mine.

The yellow yarn? Yellow is for the people I have never met who have influenced my life. Beth Moore and the Bible Studies she has written have lifted my understanding to a new level. The writer of The Shack. The person who cut out the first jigsaw puzzle. I love to do jigsaw puzzles. The person that discovered Mirapex. Mirapex has changed my life because now - at least most nights - I can sleep instead of being awake with Restless Leg.

Can you see the invisible yarn? The invisible yarn is the love of God. And that love is interwoven in all of our lives.

As I looked at my creation, I saw my life. I saw all the people who offered me wisdom. Who helped me gain understanding.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

What would your yarn picture look like? Could you put names to the white yarn? The red yarn? The brown yarn? The black yarn? The yellow yarn?

LET US PRAY

This week, please say a prayer for the people who have helped you during your life. Those that have been in your life for a long time or a short time. Say a thank you for those that have touched your life without even knowing it.