faith,  inspiration

God’s Stitches

March 15, 2017 / 15 Comments

Do you ever look around and feel inadequate or unsure of your future? Do you compare yourself to others or question God’s plans for your life?

Don’t worry lovely reader, you’re in good company. A few weeks ago these exact feelings were swirling around my brain. I was cleaning out my purse when I found the old crumpled up newsletter from my friend Michelle, who is a school teacher in Senegal. Her words were arrows to my heart, a message from God I wanted to share with you:

We each represent one pixel of the greater purpose of God’s plan–which has always been and will always be about His glory and honor and renown. It is not for me to question, or compare, or look around me. My purpose is to gaze hard at Jesus and as a small pixel to be a part of displaying His glory. –Michelle

As I read Michelle’s letter, I found myself thinking about my hobby of knitting. Every stitch is so small in comparison to the final product, yet without each one, the piece would completely fall apart. If I drop a stitch by mistake, then the whole scarf or blanket will unravel into a large hole.

It’s the same with you and me lovely reader. We are all God’s stitches in this gigantic knit blanket we call earth. It can be easy to compare ourselves to one another or not feel like we’re making a difference, but these are all lies from the enemy.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV)

As followers of Christ, we make up the collective church that is the Bride of Christ. Every single one of us is important, although our roles may be different. Just as every stitch of yarn depends on the ones connected to it, we lean on one another to glorify God.

The world needs Christians of all different skills, backgrounds, and callings in order to reach people for Christ. 

Although you may feel insignificant, just look at the widow in the Bible who gave only two small coins to the treasury.

So He [Jesus] said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” (Luke 21:3-4 NKJV)

Do you know why Jesus was so impressed by this woman’s offering? It’s not the amount that mattered. Jesus was pleased because she gave all that she had. This woman gave her whole heart and held nothing back from her Savior.

We all have something we can give God–whether it be time, money, prayers, talents, kindness, labor, or anything else He’s graced us with.

As a blogger, it’s easy for me to get wrapped up in comparing myself to other successful bloggers who have thousands of followers and posts that go viral. But instead of helping me, comparison only leads to distracting me from everyone I do influence. I can’t possibly see what God is doing in my life when I’m too busy looking at what others are doing. 

It does not matter whether you’re chasing after kids or running a whole church. God places the same value on every heart that is fully devoted to Him. After all, it’s about His glory anyway.

God has a plan for your life lovely one, even if it’s not yet clear to you. More importantly, He wants to lead you in the present moment. Jesus wants to  walk with you and watch you grow, stitch by stitch, into the beautiful piece of art He created you to be. 

 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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15 Comments

  • Mary McKinnon

    March 16, 2017 at 5:14 am Reply

    First time I have come across your blog. It blessed me so greatly tonight. I’m trying to find where God wants me/what He wants me to to do.. I was always very active in the ministry God gave me. It was God, I take no credit for any if it. I worked with hungry, homeless, hurting people. Then my life exploded. My ex left because I found out he had been sexually assaulting our only child for years. I absolutely had no idea. My daughter is now profoundly unstable and I’m caring for her. I have no money, no car. And I confess I am worn out. So many suicide attempts, etc. We have been hungry and homeless, but we have a place to live now. My ex is a very wealthy man, but, cut all ties with his daughter when I discovered what he was.
    Can God still use me. I am a broken woman. I can’t travel around town, no car, and while I still give to the hungry & homeless I see. I can barely stretch my income to feed us.
    What can God do with someone who is broken?
    God Bless You
    Keep writing, you are a blessing!

    • fearfullywonderfullyme

      March 16, 2017 at 7:30 pm Reply

      Mary, I want to thank you for sharing your story with me. Your words are actually very inspiring because they show me a woman who loves God and others above herself. I am so sorry for what happened to you, and I am glad that you and your daughter are safe. God can use anyone. In fact, a broken person is perfect because God can fill you with Himself. Your situation is difficult, but God can use your kindness and love for others. He can use your parenting to influence your daughter. Whatever you have, God can and will use (we just might not see the fruits of it in this life). I am praying for you and hope you find the right resources you need for you and your daughter. Thank you for your comment!

  • beckielindsey

    March 15, 2017 at 7:13 pm Reply

    Emily, sweet, Emily! This is my favorite post you’ve written. Oh, that we could truly grasp how loved and how important we are to Jesus. Your knitting analogy is wonderful. I also loved the comments between Wendy Brydge and you. Glory be to God! It’s wonderful to see like minds and hearts collaborate together.
    Keep shining, sister!

    • fearfullywonderfullyme

      March 15, 2017 at 8:24 pm Reply

      Thanks so much Beckie! This post was inspired by a Godly friend, and I think it’s one of my favorites too! Isn’t it awesome how God inspired even more people through this post? That’s one of the many reasons why I’m in awe of Him. God bless you!

  • Wendy Brydge

    March 15, 2017 at 1:51 pm Reply

    I definitely struggle with some of these same frustrations. It can be so easy to think that what you’re doing is not enough, or isn’t reaching enough people. But along with the great verses you quoted, I also try to keep in mind Luke 15:7: “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”, and also verse 10: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” So if what you’ve said, done, or written about the Lord has helped even just ONE person in your whole entire life, then your life was worth living. For just one person.

    Another important one is Isaiah 55:10: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” God’s Word never falls void to the ground. Never. Whether you speak it, or I speak it, whether it’s in person or in a blog post — it doesn’t matter. The Word goes out from our mouths and it does the job it’s meant to do. Which means it’s never a waste when a blog post sits with only one or two likes — or sometimes none! (Wow, do I know that feeling.) Whether we get 10 views or 10,000. It just doesn’t matter. It still has value to SOMEONE, and it WILL do its job with them, and therefore is never a waste of time or effort.

    That’s the wonderful thing about sharing the gospel that I feel a lot of Christians don’t understand. They think that they need to run all over the world as missionaries to spread the Word of God. And while I certainly don’t condemn the ones who do that, I would like to remind others that there is plenty of work to do right at home, wherever you are, and that our job as God’s people is not to make converts. A lot of people seem to think that it’s THEY who can change people. But we can’t change anybody. And that’s not our job. Jesus will change someone, not us. Our job is to learn the message and understand it, and then share it. It’s God’s Word in our mouths. But we’re just the delivery method. It’s the Word itself that either convicts or condemns.

    That’s why we point at Jesus, not at people’s sins. What people do is between them and the Lord. It’s not up to us to change them. God will do that. But getting that message out there — that’s what’s important. And that’s what we need to do, and what we DO do every time we talk about Jesus to someone. And whether our audience is small or big (and sometimes it’s a lot bigger than we might realize), if we tell the Truth in a spirit of love, then it’s never a waste. God will use it, and our work will have been of value.

    I love reading your posts about the Lord. I admire your conviction as well as your courage. No matter how insignificant you ever feel, I assure you, you’re not. What you do here is of value, and like I said — if you helped only one person know Jesus in 80-some years on this earth, then everything you went through, all the pain and heartache and tough times that your life held were worth it. You’re very valuable and God will reward you for it. Just think how happy that one person is going to be when he/she stands before Jesus and thanks you for telling them the Truth. 🙂 (So sorry for the length of this comment!!!)

    • fearfullywonderfullyme

      March 15, 2017 at 2:39 pm Reply

      Wendy, don’t be sorry! This comment is so beautiful that I think it could be made into a post of its own! Thank you so much for your encouraging words and scriptures. It’s so true that watching someone come to Jesus or revive their relationship with Him is the most amazing thing. We cannot forget what an impact that has on the kingdom of heaven. And yes, God’s word will never return void! His purpose will prevail. We just need to trust Him (especially when it comes to the people around us). 😊 God bless you, and thank you!

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