This is taken from my instagram… posted last summer. I found it again when browsing my old pictures, and I know not everyone who reads my blog is on IG.

Sometimes sewing tools offer some pretty interesting insights for me. What I learned this day from a rather large upholstery needle, that looked as though it could withstand any amount of tugging and pulling, especially through a small mending project on my couch, was that appearances are often deceiving.

[this shows it next to a normal sized sewing needle]

Looking at this needle before I began my project, I would not have guessed the stress of previous mending projects had caused it to become so fragile. And yet, it was. I pulled, hoping to break the thread because I was too lazy to reach for the scissors; and the needle broke instead.

When we, in our often self-centered lives (remember, I’m talking about myself), neglect to notice the stresses we cause on others- through: being habitually late, unprepared, unlovingly critical… then there’s the spiritual stress of not praying for friends, forgetting to check on those we know are hurting, and many other situations that are unseen, but definitely felt- we then fail to realize that the reason someone becomes broken is often not because they were weak, but because we were too lazy to get the scissors and cut the string. We just pulled… along with everyone else in their life, and they paid the price.

Do you have a friend that is just always there? Always in his/her place at work, at church, in your school activities…? Thank them. Hug them. Send them a card. And also, don’t be late when you’re going to help… be prepared, and don’t offer criticism without a loving word or gesture. And then: pray for them; text and tell them so! You may need to pull on them, but try not to be the reason they feel broken one day.

#sewingtools #randomthoughts #designing31