…Or something like that.  I have tried both, and do well at neither.  In my single-digit years, making a navy “scarf” for a family member was my first experience with my friends, Knit and Purl.  I’m almost certain that the instructions said to begin with a 6” width on one end of the scarf, and finish with a 3” width on the other.  Anyway, that’s how it turned out.  The recipient, realizing the cost of this exquisitely knitted piece, wisely kept it folded in the bottom dresser drawer.  For a few years at least, sentiment saved it from being tossed out. 

In making the scarf conform to my pattern, there was much pulling out and starting over.  The twisted yarn showed my journey.  Which way did the needle point when purling again?  Why won’t my needle fit through the yarn anymore?  Great—the needle just broke—now what do I do?  Everything is navy—it all looks the same!

Does your life sometimes feel like a scarf being knitted, then pulled apart?  How easy it would be if we could just phone and say, “I’d like to make a 2:30 appointment for a “conformation” for my life.”  But we often come daily, saying, “Here I am again, Lord, with the same sin I gave you yesterday”, or, “Here’s the same struggle from last week.  I’m still not doing very well with this on my own, so please rework what You just did before I tore it out.”  As each struggle reminds us of how far it is from our weakness to His strength, so each should leave us astonished at the intricate work He can and will do in our lives if we allow Him.  Without the struggles, we would not value His work in us nor give the glory to Him.  We have the Lord’s personalized design in our lives.

 Rom. 8:29