Same thing goes for a book store, I could easily spend a crazy amount of hours staring at the children's books, cook books, chick lit, art books, novels....anything except the westerns or the crazy romance novels really. Again, another value instilled in me by my Mom - she loves books too and she read to me all the time, took me to the library, and bought me all the American Girl books my heart could desire. I've always loved being around books. Even now, one of my favorite date nights with my husband is to just go and wander a book store together. We love it. We're book nerds and we love that about each other.
The other day I got to thinking about why this is. Why I enjoy wandering around in these stores so much. Something inside me comes alive. It doesn't matter that I am just window shopping. I know it seems strange to talk about "coming alive" in a fabric store, but it happens. And then it hit me. Yesterday on the phone I was talking with my craft-loving best friend and she was talking about staring at a bunch of spools of thread and all the possibilities it represented. And I realized it - possibility. That's what it is about the book and craft store. They are filled with possibilities. All the supplies are sitting there so beautifully - but they're not complete yet. They haven't served their purpose yet. They are waiting to be turned into a skirt, a quilt, a purse, a scarf, a baby blanket, a scrapbook page, a card, a bookmark. The possibilities are endless. And the beauty of books is that they are filled with possibilities too. They can challenge you, teach you, change you, inspire you, take you to another world, make you think about things that had previously never crossed your mind. They introduce you to people who are strangers to you when you start the book, but by the last page you know that you will never forget them. Entire worlds of possibility await on the pages of a book.
The same is true with our relationship with God - I know it may seem like a huge stretch to compare our walk with God to things like walking through a craft store or bookstore but stay with me. Life spent following God is filled with possibilities, and there is something so beautiful about that. We don't know what the future holds and that is so exciting and thrilling. Yes it's scary at times, really scary. But honestly - would you want your walk with God to be boring and predictable? Do we want to know all the answers right away and know exactly what is going to happen each and every way? God knows how it is all going to turn out and he has our best interest at heart. He knows how we need to change, what we need to learn and how we need to be challenged. And at times when it can be so frightening and frustrating to not know how things are going to turn out, it's comforting to know that we are in the hands of the one who does.
Sometimes we think that our plan, our pattern, our design, our story is better than what God has in store - but it's not. It never is. So while He puts everything together perfectly - for our best interest and for His glory - I believe it is our job to relax, trust Him and enjoy wandering the aisles of the store...and come alive at the thought of the possibilities that are there for us. He is the Master craftsmen and the best Author, everything He makes is full of beauty and every story He writes is an incredible adventure that turns out exactly as it should - according to His plan.
Picture a piece of embroidery placed between you and God, with the right side up toward God. Man sees the loose frayed ends; but God sees the pattern. - Corrie ten Boom
This is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9
Thanks for this Crystal! It makes me feel even more excited about my walk with the Lord. At times I can tend to feel very guilty and this reminded me that God wants the opposite of that. He loves us. He is excited for us and eager for time with us. :-)
ReplyDeleteLoved this!!
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