God’s Great Fabric

God thought of me, and fit me into the fabric of life. I could see where I was attached to the fabric that made up my parents and their parents too. Many others were attached to me here and there at points in the fabric. Some I couldn’t even remember who they were, but the connections remained strong and true. As I looked farther along I saw a great rumpled area that was pulled away from all but some other rumpled areas of fabric. I asked God why He had messed up the fabric and He told me, “That is where you pulled away from Me!” Farther along I saw where the fabric settled back down, leaving only little pulled places here and there.

I saw the deepest connection with Bonnie as our fabric combined to become a new fabric made brighter and more vibrant by the combination. Then came the tiny stitches of my children. I wept as I saw the rumpled areas of their fabric, and then celebrated as I saw it settle out farther along to combine with other fabric to become vibrant. Then there were other tiny stitches, but God wouldn’t let me see beyond that point.

Looking back I saw other connections I had missed before. Friends who had attached their fabric to mine, some for just a few stitches. Others carried a deep stitch that lasted for long pieces of the fabric. Some were deeply tied in and at times the colors blended some. I realized that where someone gives, something is received.

The fabric stretched forward and backward farther than I could see. There were well known stitches, but many more unknown that carried as bright a color and were also attached to many other stitches. Unknown to me, but so well known by God. So often God would smooth down a piece of the fabric, often with tears in His eyes.

What kept the fabric from unraveling, I asked? God showed me a special weave that surrounded the fabric and extended into the very heart of it. It’s name was Jesus! For Jesus holds us all together, as well as the One who makes the stitches of the fabric. I saw that the fabric stretched both ways from me, but that I helped hold the whole fabric together also. I was not just a part of God, but of the whole fabric of life.

May God show you the fabric of your life!

Ronald Ramsey March 23, 2001