I haven’t done much sewing in a lot of years. But I am making Stella a Christmas dress. Am making is a loose term for half of it is cut out and the other half is laying on the table. The sewing machine is yet to be set up and right now it’s just a dream in my mind. I can see how I want it to be, but nothing’s really formed yet. Since “dress up Sunday” is this week-end I have precious little time left to get it all together. I have a backup plan in case my dreams don’t make it to reality but tonight my plan is to get that little sweety’s dress finished.
Christmas is a great time to overload the hours with preparations. It’s that wonderful opportunity to bring out the best in the closets and the best in us. Sometimes, though, when I go through the Christmas decorations I find that somewhere along the way things have gotten broken or ripped or become tattered. It requires fixing, gluing or deciding if it’s going to make it into this year’s adornment. Some things don’t really look worthy to be seen. The worn and not so pretty ornaments remind us of our own not so perfect self. If we’re not careful we’ll look at our less than Martha Stewart holiday preparations and pronounce ourselves unfit for display. The tendency is to want Norman Rockwell to paint us and House Beautiful to highlight us, but life is messy. Most of us want to pull Christmas off without a hitch but imperfection abounds and life happens even while we’re having fun.
We’re not worthy. We’re not capable. We can’t pull this thing called life off without a hitch. We try to sew things up, glue the brokenness and patch the missing pieces but still we find ourselves less than. We’ll try to straighten ourselves up, dust ourselves off, start over again and work harder, do more, and hide the hurts, anguish and pain. But we’re still broken and we need something more than we can produce with our own hands to fix it all. We need someone else to come into our mess and make things right.
God speaks to my heart: Your weakness is My opportunity to showcase my glory. Stop worrying about the 'less thans' and look to Me, for I AM more than. I am more than a Savior, I am your wonderful counselor, your everlasting Father, and the prince of peace. I have come so that you can have life more abundantly than you can produce on your own. I AM the Mighty God. I am your protector, provider and repairer. I specialize in restoring people. I AM capable of taking everything broken, bent out of shape and unfit for sight and making it all new – including you. Look again at the less than perfect décor and let it all remind you that you are My precious child, perfected in Christ. Everything you lack is found in Me. In everything that you are declared unfit in this world I over-stamp with my seal of approval. You are precious in My sight and your days are numbered. But not so that you can worry that you won’t get it all done, but so you can rest in Me while you work. Relax, and know that I AM able to let My light shine through everything you do.
Oh beloved, the weakness you see in yourself is simply a beautiful decoration to show forth the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. If you don’t get it all done, don’t worry for He did! Let yourself enjoy the holidays and the preparation and the giving and whatever else your hand has to do, for His greatest blessing is when you let Him shine His glory through you for the world to see. He loves you and He’s for you and that makes things right all through the years.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.
John 14:1 Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.
Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Psalm 57:2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.
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