Further Sewing Lessons

Yesterday we started Week Two of our sewing classes.  Carie demonstrated how to properly take in the waists of pants.  Many of the women out there know about that frustrating ‘gap’ in the back of pants that fit fine through the hips and thighs, but are too big in the waist.  It was a complicated alteration, with lots of ‘life’ lessons!

Lesson One:  There’s a lot underneath those seams!  It was amazing how much fabric was folded up and sewn into the seams.  As Carie stitch-ripped, more and more fabric unfolded.  How like our lives it is.  It is easy to look smooth and put together until stress or problems begin to unravel us.

When people start to seek God, we need to remember that there is a lot that needs to be changed.  One opening leads to other hidden sin.  Cultural pressures, family expectations, personality and preferences, all start to come to light.  This is an important process, and it can become overwhelming as more and more is revealed.  We need to walk alongside, helping encourage each other as the Holy Spirit shows us areas that need the healing ‘alteration’ of the Gospel.    

Lesson Two:  Alterations take patience.  At one point Carie got impatient and tugged on the fabric.  The result?  A tear she had not intended.  She had to do extra work folding and arranging the seam.  It was a good reminder that even those with lots of experience can sometimes become frustrated. 

When we see the women taking steps backward instead of forward, we can lose patience and try to force them along.  The result is not pretty, and adds even more time and pain to the process.

Lesson Three:  It’s all about finishing.  At one point, the back seams were all ripped out, the pants completely undone, stray threads and fabric everywhere.  To an untrained eye, the pants were ruined.  And, in a sense, they were.  No one could use them in this half-fixed state.  Even though a lot of work had been done, there was more to do to finish the job.

This is why long-term discipleship is so important.  We share the Gospel, and people are ‘undone’ as they confront their need for a Savior.  That is an incredible first step.  But, if we do not commit to walking with them, or connecting them with others who can, we have not helped them finish the race. 

How many times have people lost hope and turned away from the truth they enthusiastically embraced?  The Great Commission says we are to ‘teach them to obey all that I have commanded you’.  The teaching is often a lot of work, with plenty of backwards steps.  But, without it, the job is just half-done.  We take heart in the promise of Jesus that He will be with us as we go, all the way to the end.

It is a blessing and encouragement to see the women learning new skills.  We pray that as the week continues, we will be open to what God is showing us… about alterations, and ‘sew’ much more!