My sister and I spent our Saturday making prayer quilts. It was a pleasant and peaceful day.
While sewing, my sister didn’t get her block lined up exactly right in one spot. One small area on the entire quilt. She was stressing over this one little mistake.
“Don’t worry about it, it will disappear when it is quilted. I can quilt over it, and you will never see it.” I encouraged.
Not fully assured, she continued to show concern over that one little thing. I said, “Keva, you can look at any quilt made and if you look close enough you will see an area that doesn’t line up perfectly.”
It’s true – I have been to many quilt shows and even the most beautiful quilts, once critiqued, will have an area that doesn’t line up perfectly. It never takes away from the beauty of it.
I encouraged Keva to wait and look at the quilt when it was finished, only then would she see the true beauty of her creation.
As we talked, I thought about a scripture.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)
Just like quilting and many other things, we will undoubtedly make mistakes along the way. That one little mistake doesn’t determine the outcome.
So, it is with us.
Jesus who began a good work in us the day we were born again will continue to work in our hearts, until the day we are reunited with Him.
We are not going to walk a perfect walk. I wish we could. Unfortunately, we are going to get angry or hurt. We are going to lash out when we don’t mean to. We are going to miss the mark some days. But we can’t throw it all away and give up. NO! We must repent and walk on.
And we must forgive ourselves and continue pressing toward holiness.
Just like a quilt, you won’t see the beauty of it all until it is finished. Until the day we stand before our King.
Until then, He will keep working with us. He will continue correcting us when we need correction. He will be faithful to show us when we go the wrong way or say the wrong thing. If we allow Him to, just as the Word of God says, He will continual until He completes the work, He has begun in us.
When only must look through the Bible and the pages of history to know God remains faithful, even when His people mess up.
Look at King David, he was with another man’s wife and killed her husband. Yet God called him a man after his heart. Or Abraham, he lied more than once, yet God honored and continues to honor His covenant with Abraham. Moses thought he was inadequate, yet God used him to deliver a nation. On and on the list goes. God is not looking for perfection – He is looking for a heart that belongs to Him alone. A heart that continues to go after Him, no matter how many times they mess up.
This is something my Aunt Sherry taught me while learning to quilt. In the beginning, if I made one little mistake, I would throw the entire thing away. She would take my discarded project and finish it and make a beautiful quilt – one I envied. I finally learned if I make a mistake, keep going, it will turn out okay.
My friends, God is not done with you yet – be patient with yourself and keep running back to Him. That’s all He asks.
Furthermore, let’s remember this is true for those around us. God is not finished with them yet, extend grace and mercy, knowing He who began a good work in them…will continue working with them until it is complete. Be patient and give them time to grow in Him. It will come out beautifully in the end, trust Him.
