Wandering from stall to stall in the tailoring section of the main market, I can’t help but marvel at the wall-to-wall displays of vibrant fabrics layered upon each other. Like a pieced-together quilt, the yards of kitenge, which boast every color and pattern imaginable, draw in those passing by. As my eyes attempt to focus on one patterned print at a time, I tune in to the steady whirling rhythm of Singer sewing machines stationed within these side-by-side shops. My mind is flooded with the possibilities of creating lovely things from these threaded beauties.
When we packed our two suitcases and four bins seven years ago, arts and crafting supplies were definitely my top priority. They were crammed into every nook and cranny. Over the years, however, my love of card-making has transitioned from using patterned paper to patterned fabric. I’ve swapped watercolor paper for heavy card stock found locally and I’ve learned how to sew treasured items for my kids thanks to YouTube videos and a hand-me-down sewing machine. I’ve learned to release the old ways of creating, become thankful for the materials found here in Uganda, and been open to trying something completely new.
Which brings us to my latest crafty project: attempting to hand-weave a large rug. Rug making has become a creative outlet for me in the middle of a rather chaotic season. It’s a labor of love when my fingers twist and turn, loop and lace each strip of colorful fabric. I chose kitenge with specific colors in mind, tailoring a rug for a specific place in our home. When I weave the ripped strips of fabric back and forth around a thick rope, the colors collide in an intermingling of sunshine, tangerine, and ocean bliss.
Yet as each layer around the center grows bigger, the progress I initially saw when I first began has drastically slowed down. Although I am not seeing as much growth in these later days of creating, it doesn’t mean the progress isn’t there. It’s slow, but it’s steady. It’s quietly growing unrealized by the eye but definitely felt by the hand. As I continue to craft this rug for our unfinished upstairs loft, I am reminded that in all the unfinished areas of my life, God’s gentle hand is weaving everything together in time.
As King Solomon declares in Ecclesiastes 3:11,
He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart,
yet so that he cannot find out what God has done
from the beginning to the end (ESV).
The Greek word translated for beautiful used here is “yapheh” which also means appropriate or becoming. For we are his poiema, his very own handiwork, and we are becoming who he longs for us to be until we are reunited with him in eternity. When I feel I’m lingering in the waiting, transitioning, or struggling, it can often feel like nothing is happening. In those times when I don’t feel the forward motion or see a way being made, I am quick to think God has stopped working. Yet, despite what we don’t feel or see, the Lord is still at work in us and for us.
He will accomplish and perfect what he has planned for us, there in the interlacing of his glory and our testimonies of his faithfulness. He is weaving together my life’s details in a way that I can’t fathom. Just as something purposeful like a rug can eventually come from weaving simple rope and fabric together, God is creating something incredible out of the broken pieces in me.
So, round and round I go.
Pressing on, even though the progress is slow.
He is the master artist and creator of all things from the beginning of time until the very end. Tailor-making a masterpiece out of the messiness in us and around us. Gathering up the frayed threads of our imperfections, our struggles, our pain, our failures, and our disappointments, he purposefully weaves them together as he works for our good and his glory. As I ponder this truth in my heart, I begin to praise the Lord for all these unfinished areas:
As you weave my days together,
you are teaching me to abide.
And as your handiwork is displayed,
I know this life is yours, not mine.
You are found in the little details
and every thread of my story.
From the deep grief to overwhelming joy,
all of it is displaying your glory.
Remade, reshaped into an elaborate work of art,
A masterpiece, you are interweaving each and every part.
Tailor-made things take love, time, and patience.
And while we won’t know why the Lord allows certain things to happen in our lives, we do have the promise that he will create something beautiful out of them.
Not in our time, but in his.
And I am sure of this, that he who began the good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6 ESV).
What unfinished areas in your life do you need to surrender to the One who is still at work? Take a moment to praise him for this place of becoming and know without a doubt that the work he first began in you, he will bring to completion.
