The Joys of Sewing and Other Handiwork

I love to sew.  I love other handwork also, but I love to create things out of cloth most of all.  I used to make wonderful dresses for my daughter and myself; now I love to make doll clothes and be as intricate as possible.  It is a joy to be able to carve out time to be able to sew.  I love the planning, the cutting, the machine sewing and the hand sewing.  I love it all.  It is a joy, and I feel, a gift from God.  I say this not only because I find so much joy in it, but because I began handiwork when I was very young.  My mother, obviously attuned to my abilities, had handiwork for busy-me to do even before I could read.

In latest issue of Sew Beautiful, Martha Pullen has a devotion concerning worry.  Here is a portion:

…Many times in my Sunday School classes I have said, “ I do not know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future.”  I know this to be totally true---so why do I lapse into worry?  Joshua1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I will share with you that sewing has been a soothing time for me my whole life, a time to pray and to forget my worries.  I know that many of you have the same experience.  We must remember to thank God for giving us the joy of sewing in this complicated world we live in and to always praise Him for making most of our lives good.  Do you remember the little song “count your blessings, name them one by one”?  Let’s make a pact that we will, indeed, count our blessings not our worries; okay?…   (March/April, issue no.135,2011, volume 25, number 2, page 7)

In Joshua chapter one God is speaking to Joshua and His people, the Israelites, as they now must go into the land He has given them.  That would have been very worrisome!  But God was there with them and He encouraged them in that.

We also can count on the LORD being with us in all of our worries.  We can cast our cares on Him and He will sustain you even if your worst fears come to fruition.  We can count on Him.  He is our rock that is higher.

“Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” Psalm 55:22

“From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:2

In my own life I have sometimes felt like I have been too shaken, and I have felt that I have been left on a rock that is lower than I.  But the reality in which I do come to realize, is that He has carried me so much more than I have ever thought.  He has been there for me even when at the time I have felt He hasn’t been there.  He is our solid rock.  We can not count on our feelings, but we can surely count on the Word of God which explains His true character.  We can count on God.