In The Back Loop Only..A Crochet Devotional :)

For it was You (God) who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.   Psalm 139:13

I love to crochet...taking one strand of yarn and by simply moving it in and around itself turning it into something beautiful, something useful, something warm, something a child can play with.  It amazes me that a cute blue stuffed elephant ...once was only just one strand of yarn. 

It amazes me that a warm afghan that covers a tall young man...was once just a strand of yarn. 

It amazes me that a sturdy cotton dishcloth that scrubs away dirt and stains...started out as one single strand of yarn.

I think how flimsy a single strand of yarn is...not very strong, not very durable, not very useful...until it is twisted this way and than, knotted here and there...and, finally, something begins to appear different.

There is creation going on.

How much my life is like that!  One thin strand...one pulsing cord...began my life on this earth.  Giving my heart to Jesus at an early age in life, I believe that He used each experience...the wonderful, the sad, the frightening, and the joyful...to weave me into who I am today.  

Jesus has taught me that as part of the body of Christ, His Church, we are to pray for, encourage, and support each other in truth and love.  That is a stronger weaving of strands of our fellowship together.

Tonight I was crocheting a dishcloth pattern...I came to a line of instruction that read:  "Crocheting in the BACK LOOPS only...".   The normal single stitch of crochet is one strand of yarn, pushed beneath the two next strands of yarn, pulling another strand under up and through the loop on the hook.  Don't worry if you aren't a crocheter and didn't follow all that.  Just trust me that it makes for a nice, dense, strong stitch and if you add these single stitches next to each other in rows...it makes a nice piece of fabric.

So, for me, the instructions "In the BACK LOOPS only" seemed a little unreliable.  I mean, the stitch would not be as strong.  It would only be connected by one tiny loop to the rest of the piece instead of two.  But as I began to crochet by faith, I saw something really neat happen.  As I crocheted in the back loops only (those measly, little, one stranded loops) a pattern was emerging on the front of the piece...a nice strong straight raised border.  It gave definition to the piece, made it not merely a dishcloth, but a pretty dishcloth.  

And as I added back loops stitches side by side, they became stronger.  I crocheted by faith, waiting to see what would turn out...how it would look...trusting in the instructions, although at times they did not make sense.

I need to do this in my life...live it in faith in Jesus Christ on a moment to moment basic, knowing that God can see what my life is going to look like when it is all said and done.  I know that He will take those weakest links in me (those "back loops") and turn them into a strong definition of His power in me and He will be glorified and I will be amazed and awed when one day we look back and He says , See...right there...that long line of weaknesses?  Can you see now that strong line of strength that occurred because of it and the beauty that caused people to look to me because you gave Me the glory in your weakness?  THAT is creation.  

Exodus 35:35 says  "He (God) has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works."

And I am so glad that my Creator loves me and stitched me together in my mother's womb and continues to stitch together the tapestry of my life into something that can bring glory to Him and who He is ....because He is all there is!  He is LOVE.  He is TRUTH.  He is PEACE.  He is.  He is the Great I Am. 

Today I heard God in the whisper of a crochet needle against yarn.  Where did you hear God today?