For the third time in 12 years, I had my left knee replaced about 4 weeks ago. The surgeon re-opened up a 15 inch gap, drilled, scraped, sanded, pulled, tucked, inserted some specialized metal rods and a Teflon pad and sewed me up. He told me it would be a 2 to 4 month recovery and I am struggling both with the pain and the lack of mobility.

I share those personal details because I don’t think I am all that different from lots of other folks who are struggling as they start this new week. Their scar might not be on their leg, it may be in their heart or across the life of a loved one, but it is a real scar. And the pain may not reverberate down their appendage, but it too is real. It keeps them up at night, causes their heart to race and keeps their spirits depressed. They are discouraged.

Me too.

And that frustration caused me to read a good book this past week. It is called “Calm my Anxious Heart: a Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment” by Linda Dillow. Although the author covered lots of familiar material, I appreciated the focus on scripture. Early on in the book she urged us all to revisit Psalm 139 and be reminded that God is the designer of both our bodies and our personalities. And that He makes no mistakes as He draws out His plan for our lives.

But if I were being honest, I would share with you that it is hard to trust, when the circumstances of life make it too dark to see. So I loved it when Dillow reminded me about the night of the Exodus when “all that night the Lord drove the sea back…” (Exodus 14:21). “While the Israelites were quaking in their boots, the miracle occurred all that night.” She goes on to remark, “perhaps your life is filled with darkness and you can’t see. Still God is working, just as He worked, ‘all that night ‘for the Israelites. The next day simply manifested what God had done during the night.”

She went on to share, “The city of Brussels is known for its exquisite lace. In the famous lace shops, there are certain rooms devoted to the spinning of the finest and most delicate patterns. These rooms are altogether dark, except for a light from one tiny window that falls directly upon the pattern. Only one spinner sits in the darkened room in the very place where the narrow stream of light falls upon the threads of his weaving. Lace is always more delicately and beautifully woven when the worker himself is in the dark and only his pattern in is the light.

As God weaves His pattern into the fabric of our loves, sometimes we sit in a darkened room…but we must fix our focus on our faithful Weaver and we will someday know that the most exquisite work of all our life was done in those days of darkness.”

So this week let’s concentrate on trusting the Weaver. I may be a bit weary and fearful. You may be exhausted and struggling with some real pain but let’s be confident that He has His eyes on the divine pattern. We can become some beautiful lace if we will let him work!
By His Grace and for His Glory,
Sherry L. Worel