Threads

This has been a rough week for a lot of people. The week of 9/11 can be tortuous to anyone who was affected by that day and who wasn't affected in some way? Others have lost jobs or family members. Watching the news is a TV whuppin' with fires, wrecks, people dying and the usual political idiots. It seems everybody one meets should be at the top of your prayer list. We all need some good news today.

My dear friend Scott said something the other day that is helping me through what is my worst year in recent memory. He did not explain why bad things happen to good people. He did not promise it would get better. He did not even guarantee me that I was through the worst of it. Of course, I can't do justice to his eloquence, thoroghness or passion but he illustrated by saying that he visited a castle in Europe some time ago and was struck by the beauty and complexity of the tapestries that were hanging on the wall. Vast murals of fabric depicting great historical scenes took his breath away with attention to detail and intentionality of each thread.

He said up close he could see a thread running incredible distances through the other colors to make a part of what at a greater distance looked to be a beautiful painting. If one were to turn that tapestry over, though, and look at the back side it is a completely different story. Loose ends of threads hang down shaggily. The colors don't make sense, running together and stopping without making a picture at all. From the back all one sees is a bunch of mixed up colors and threads that don't seem to have a reason.

This life we live is very similar. From this side of it nothing seems to make sense. There is no pattern and it certainly is not beautiful nor even intentional. It doesn't make sense. It's not fair, fun or fine no matter how close we look. The problem is we can only see it from this side of Heaven. We can't see the intentionality that God is weaving into it with each thread of difficulty or sacrifice we have to endure. Some of the threads are good and are fun to see stitched into our personalities but often times the most beautiful parts of a tapestry are the most difficult and don't make sense when viewed from this side.

The knowledge of this won't bring back those loved ones we have lost or make up for the tragedies we all endure. It doesn't even explain everything. Nothing ever will. So enjoy the good threads that run through all of our lives. Spend time this weekend with the ones you love. Remember the fun times and in the process you will make more. But just knowing that God intentionally weaves each and every thread of our lives to make a beautiful picture is very good news.

h/t Scott Parrish This is a must-listen!