On a recent trip to Cusco where hand weaving is a common cultural skill, I had the opportunity to see a tapestry with a unique and intricate design being hand made on a loom. It was half way done and it was spectacular. The colors were a mixture of bold and soft and the design was a beautiful collection of shapes and images that told a story. It wasn’t something I had seen before. The tapestries had seen were usually symmetrical, uniform, and with a simple color palette. This beautiful work of art led me on a journey of exploration and ultimately a beautiful message from God for me, that I wanted to share with all of you. So here goes…
Did you know that the process begins first with caring for the animal who provides the wool from a sheep, or in the case of an alpaca, its fiber. You need to provide good food and shelter to produce good wool. This is how the Lord cared for me all those years I didn’t know Him yet. He provided what I needed so that I could have eventually good wool.
The next step is to cut the wool off the sheep which requires its own set of skill and care. The next step is cleansing the wool after it is cut off from the sheep. It is very dirty and filled with oils that protect the sheep’s skin. It needs to be gently soaked in hot water to remove the impurities and in the case of sheep’s wool to get the lanoline out too. I thought this was very interesting that lanoline, which is used in many ways for caring for our skin and is very valuable, is something that comes out of that first cleansing step for the wool to be ready to be spun. It made me think of my own journey with the Lord. It helps to remind me that even the worst moments in my life, the times when I made poor choices or walked in the opposite direction that God had for me, that something good did come out of it, just like the lanoline. I’ve been reminded that this process of gentle cleansing and refining is an ongoing process in my life.
What are some times in your life where you have seen God have to clean you multiple times . What was the lanoline? Isn’t it refreshing to know there is still good that goes out with the dirty water?
Is there something right now that He is gently cleansing you from?
The next step in making the yarn is to put the curly wool on a tool that pulls it into straight strands. This is called carding and can also be used to blend 2 materials like wool and alpaca together. The prongs are spiky, and the process is a bit hard as it requires force and strength to get out any other impurities that may have escaped the cleansing process. Again, it reminds me of times that I too have needed some strong processes to put me in the right direction. Finally, it’s time to spin the wool into yarn. To do that you need to attach the straightened wool onto an anchor yarn which is a piece of yarn already attached to the spindle. Then you spin the spindle and gently pull on the wool as it becomes yarn.
This stirred a question in me... Is every event in your life anchored to the Lord or something or someone else?
Wow! What a process! God is our Good Shepherd. Just like it says in Psalms 23:1-4, He guides us and protects us through life’s challenges. He knows best how to care for us. The process of sheering, cleansing, carding, and then finally spinning is a great representation of our sanctification process as it is repeated over and over again with each strand of yarn that is created. The process is slow and takes time, just like our life. Each piece of yarn made can be compared to 1 event or moment in our life. Every event/moment when being spun into the yarn is first anchored to connect it to the spindle. I like to think that the anchor is our Heavenly Father connecting every event/moment in our life to Him.
I also learned that sometimes as the wool is spun, there are bumps or lumps in the yarn that can make it less appealing. I think those are the strands of yarn that are at the beginning of my walk with the Lord, and also the times when I have struggled to understand His ways and allowed distance grow between us…..
And then there are other strands of yarn that are deep and vibrant colors that were dyed (yet another process of placing the yarn into boiling water to soak in the color). For me, those strands aren’t the ones that depict the easy part of my life, but the victory I have seen after every experience I have had that has increased my faith and trust in the Father. Every single strand of yarn spun has meaning and purpose because it has been anchored to our Father and is being hand woven into my very own unique tapestry. Sometimes I just sit and marvel at how long the process is just to get a strand of yarn! I think how much patience the artist must have in this process and then to actually start the weaving process!
Finally, like the unfinished tapestry I mentioned at the beginning, so is my story. It won’t be a completed masterpiece until the day I see Jesus face to face. Lately, when I feel discouraged or unsure of the future, it helps me to imagine what my tapestry looks like so far. It encourages me because I KNOW it is beautiful, with a combination of bumps and lumps, and vibrant colors that tell my story. It reminds me that if I’m going through a difficult time, that it’s just 1 strand in my story, and that there are so many more to come. With sincerest gratitude, I thank The Lord, for helping me see that I am in process and every step of this process has value as I draw closer to Him.
