I have a closet full of UFOs and PiGs. It's not what you think! I am a crafter! I have UnFinished Objects and Projects In Grocerybags...... many of them. There are quilts, wall hangings, embroidery, yarn crafts and more. My stash has gone down considerably when I started on the quest to simplify our home almost 2 years ago. I went through that closet and weeded out many projects and supplies that I determined I would never complete or use. It was a hard process, because nearly all of those items were bought for a special reason. I either intended to make the item as a gift, it was for a special decorating touch or simply because I loved the pattern. I would say I have reduced those items in my craft closet by at least half, maybe more, yet I still have way too many unfinished items. When I go through that process of eliminating I take each item - hold it, think about what I would do with it if I did complete it and make the decision whether to continue or quit.
One of my favorite crafts has always been quilting. Years ago when I lived in another town there was no quilt guild so I turned to internet groups and found a wonderful group of women that were like minded. We formed an online quilting group where we shared ideas, we participated in quilt block exchanges long distance and a few of us even got together for our own retreats. Now a handful of those women are still some of my closest friends, yet some I have never met in person. In my box of UFOs some of the things I just can't let go are quilt blocks that I exchanged with that group. When our first granddaughter came along and was at our home most of the time the quilting got put away. I don't have a designated craft room anymore so to have all of the pins, needles, frames and supplies around with a baby just didn't seem practical, so I haven't worked on a quilting project for almost 8 years.
I've been thinking about unfinished projects and not following through with things the last few days. We are at just about the half way point in Lent. Some people may have started out with strong intentions of spiritual practices for the season at they sat in Ash Wednesday worship yet now those intentions have withered away to nothing. The time set aside is just too hard, the prayer devotional time is just too tedious, the service project just takes too much time, the fasting was a good intention but.... well , no. It's all just too hard. My hand is raised, I'm right there with you! This very blog is a perfect example ~ I allowed other things to lead me away from something I intended to do for Lent, study and contemplate this Bible story.
So let's catch back up with Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 4:1-6 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, "What does this bunch of poor feeble Jews think they're doing? Do they think they can build a wall in a single day just by offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap - and charred ones at that?" Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him remarked, "That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!" Then I prayed, "Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders." At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. NLT
How much easier would it have been for all of those people to just quit? They could have all turned around and gone back to whatever they were doing and just said "it's too hard!" But there was Nehemiah - he had a vision, he was passionate and he turned once again to God. How much easier would it have been to give in to the bullying, the oppression, the put downs. I have been thinking a lot about giving up in the last few weeks. Things just seem to hard. Business ventures that at times just seem way too hard, unexpected big bills that seem impossible to pay, broken items and even relationships that appear to be beyond repair. It would be easier to just turn from it all and walk in the other direction. Then I go spend a few days with some old friends........ including one who is 'living' with cancer. She is facing her death. We all know that we will die, she just is pretty certain that it will be before most of us and she is living fully. As I sat around a porch with other women, and a few men now and then, I listened intently to those around me. Almost without exception every person had huge obstacles in their lives that seemed impossible to get around. There were illnesses, extreme financial burdens, relationship break downs, grief and more. Any one of those things can cause a person to cut and run. What it did for me was make me more determined than ever! I stepped outside of myself for a few days and realized that no matter how bad it gets I'm going to keep going. I'm going to have the determination and drive of Nehemiah. I'm going to continue to rely on my God to get me through.
I have a picture hanging on my dining room wall that was once a project in my craft closet. About 25 years ago my sister and I were in a rundown junk store and I found a piece of linen stuffed in a bag with embroidery thread. It was dusty, the printed instructions were faded and there were only a few stitches completed on the project. I bought it for $1. I loved the scene so much that I completed the project, even without clear instructions. Some of the thread was faded in color, but I completed the project with what came in that crumpled bag. As I worked on it I wondered who had started it and why it wasn't finished. Did she just not like the project or did something happen in her life that it got stuffed in the bag and forgotten? How long had it sat in that junk shop and gathered dust? My wondering continued as I completed it. That stitchery is one of my favorite pieces that I have ever done and I look at it every day. Sometimes I just remember working on the project, others I really look at the words and pray them to God.......
Be a Nehemiah today. Keep looking to God and say "I won't give up!" Be encouraged that you have made it 'half way'. The first half may have been hard and full of opposition, and the second half may be better than you even imagined. The days are hard and sometimes I think it would be easier to just turn around and quit. But I know what is at the end of this second half of Lent and that is what keeps me going. I know the end of the story and I take peace in that. Jesus was tempted those 40 days he was in the wilderness. He faced impossible circumstances and was promised by the devil great things if he would just give in. He didn't........ I won't. Will you?
Prayer: Lord walk beside me today. Hold me up when I need it and help me face the huge obstacles that keep popping up. Keep my eyes focused on what is important and not give up when it it gets hard. Instill hope in me, and help me share that hope with others as I go about my day. In Jesus' name - Amen.
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