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Christian Womens Blog by Laurie Cole of Priority Ministries

Laurie Cole

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December 11, 2015

The Back Side of a Stocking

Last year I made this stocking for my middle child:

Juliette stocking

When I stitched the final thread I knew what must happen next. I must conquer two more for the other children so they don’t think that I love Juliette more! Somewhere between last year and this year, I forgot how hard these silly stocking kit things are!

The picture on the package is alluring, but once I opened it up and saw the massive instruction page and the chart that explains the many stitch techniques, specific sequin colors and numbers of strands of thread for each little blessed square of that stocking, I was tempted to rethink the whole thing and just order some XXXL socks from Walmart instead. The kids wouldn’t care right?

A sweet Christmas memory from my own childhood stocking keeps me going. My grandmother lovingly hand sew my brother and I our own stockings and they were both so unique and special. Mine had a miniature cow bell on it that made it jingle whenever it moved. I would love for my kids to have those same warm nostalgic feelings whenever they see what their mother made for them. This thought keeps me plugging away at my project.

As I was sitting on the couch last evening, trying not to tangle embroidery floss around beads and sequins and feeling quite inadequate about my skills as a stocking maker, I looked down to see the mess of stitches and knots on the back side of the felt.

Back of stocking with thread in knots and tangled

I was immediately reminded of the scripture in 1 Corinthians 13:12:

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.  NLT

So often we look at our lives and only see the enormity of the messes that exists. For me right now that is the huge task of becoming a full-time homeschool mom, in a completely new city, with zero family around and no church home yet. I have questioned what God was doing when he moved us to Little Rock. I have cried out to Him when I missed my friends and family so badly. And even worse than my own problems has been watching my children struggle to adjust to the sea of changes.

Each one of my worries and trials is just like a knotted up string stuck to the back of that stocking. They are tangled into each other, across each other, through one side and back again. I can feel pierced, pulled and entangled and not always know exactly why.

But then I quit looking at my shabby sewing work and flip the stocking over…

Christmas stocking front

How different the other side looks! This is what my God can do! He is so gracious to take every moment in our lives and work it out for our ultimate good – even when we cannot see the finished project. He is weaving through and through and what we can see today with our limited vision is only just the back side of the plan-the web of stitching that holds a much greater work.

I pray that I hold onto this perspective all through the Christmas season. Sometimes it feels like all the most difficult parts of life are exaggerated during December. From budget stresses to family issues to a hectic schedule that pulls you in all directions – Christmas can easily lack the peace that God intended it to bring. But you don’t have to have it all figured out and perfectly in order to pause and be in awe of the God who is at work in your life.

Stephanie Cole

P.S. If you are looking for a way to give back this Christmas we would love to have you join us in getting bible study materials into the hands of women in need. Read about what God is doing though Priority and how you can help.

 

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Comments

  1. Rose says

    December 12, 2015 at 9:58 am

    I really enjoyed reading your post Stephanie. I love your analogy about feeling “pierced, pulled and entangled and not always know exactly why.” December is a difficult month for me too. Every year gets a little easier as I learn how to cast more and more of my anxieties on God. Although I love the Christmas season with family and friends, and celebrate it as the birth of our Savior, I’m guilty of sometimes wishing we could just skip this month and go right to January. 🙂 Praying now for you and your family as you adjust to the changes God had brought into your lives.

    Reply
  2. Rose says

    December 13, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Stephanie, I must add, you did an amazing job on the stockings!!!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Cole says

      December 15, 2015 at 12:36 pm

      Thank you Rose! And thank you for praying for us during our season of changes!

      Reply

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