The Weaver

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving between my God and me;

I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily.

Oft' times He weaveth sorrow, and I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper, and I, the under side.

Not 'till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the canvas, and explain the reasons why.

The dark threads are as needful, in the skillful weaver's hand,

As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

This is my favorite poem in the whole world.  The truths in it have changed my life. 

We often focus only on what's happening now, and how terrible things are at the moment.   Think about the last time you broke down crying.  What was the reason for it? Were you just having a really bad day/week?  Thinking back on it now, was it really so bad? Everything worked out, didn't it? (I apologize if you're in the middle of one of these weeks, and it hasn't worked out yet, but know that it will!) 

If you've ever sewn anything, you know that the top looks pretty, but when you flip it over, usually, there are knots, loops, stray strings, and loads of other confusing things, and trying to figure out what it is from the bottom side never works.  Right now, we can only see the bottom side of the tapestry of our lives.  It's confusing, complicated, there are knots, stray strings and loops.  Sometimes we may think "What is the Lord doing with my life? This looks terrible!" But, we need to keep in mind that we can only see the ugly under-side of the tapestry.  When we die, we will be able to see the top side, and see how really, it turned out to be something beautiful. 

Life is like a 3-act play. We have been thrust in the middle of Act 2, with only a very small knowledge of what went on in Act 1.  In addition, Act 2 is characterized by tests, trials, temptations, and tragedies.  What we often forget is that in Act 3, all of these things are resolved.  If you live through Act 2 while focused on what's coming in Act 3, suddenly, Act 2 doesn't seem so bad.  Work through the troubles in Act 2 while keeping Act 3 in mind.