For the last month I had been working on a couple projects since I had promised to provide some raffle prizes for the Community Boutique. I committed to crocheting a couple blankets, but after starting it, I realized that it was a large task to try and complete in three weeks. I abandoned the project and went to another easier task, a scarf.
I thought it would be easy, but after nearly 8 hours into it, I realized that I made it too wide. I had two choices, abandon it or start over. The scarf was nearly 40% complete; with tears filling my eyes, I frantically started to unravel it.
As I was in the middle of unraveling it, I realized it was pointless. I felt frustration and disappointment well-up inside, as I watched this mass of black string pile up next to me. In desperation, I cut the yarn to avoid wasting time and abandoned the incomplete project all together.
After making this decision, I had an epiphany about how similar our lives are to this scenario.
The first: we keep staying on the road that we’re on when we know that it is futile, until we finally reach that point where we know we can’t keep things the way they are and we must make a choice.
This could be our jobs, our spiritual journey, or our relationships.
Whatever it is, we must come to a point where we acknowledge that change is inevitable. We may not embrace the change, cause let's be honest, it isn't easy to accept. We are creatures of habit. We like what is familiar to us.
The second: unfinished projects have a purpose. It may be that the abandoned project needs a little time to have it's own transformation before it gets integrated into a renewed project. Only time will tell.
The third: we may not be able to unravel all of life’s issues completely, but we can always start over. That part is the hardest. Especially when those ties have been woven deeply into our lives. However, deep down we know it is for the better, even at the cost of severing the ties completely and abandoning the source of our frustration.
That’s what I decided to do with the crochet project.
I started over. The moment I restarted the project, my task became easier, but I still had to invest time to rebuild the scarf.
The fourth: starting over can make our life easier at times. The weight of whatever burdened us is over. However, we aren’t absolved of our responsibilities; hard work is still necessary to rebuild our future.
The fifth: start striving to fix or mend whatever issues you are dealing with.
If you have to cut your job short, a relationship or a spiritual path to get onto the right one, do what you must. But you don’t want to stay in the same place. Stuck. Dissatisfied. Lacking progress.
Your life wasn't designed to stay unraveled and unfinished.
The sixth: We can’t always control what happens to us, however we can control how we handle life’s challenges. We can build the stitches or destroy them. We can stitch up our life’s past and move forward to create something spectacular. Every stitch I made, I saw the scarf being beautifully formed, it is no different with our own lives.
If you remain patient and keep going. You’ll be able to look back and see where your life has been and what it has become.
And when you see where you are from where you were, you'll be content and ever more appreciative that you took that leap of faith to improve yourself.
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." - Romans 12:2
The seventh: don't allow your life to become an unraveled crocheted project. Leave a legacy that will bless others.
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