Warmth, Comfort, and Care to Others
My oldest daughter, Megan and Ryan had their first son, Oliver, the end of October and I was at their house waiting to go to the hospital once he was born. Megan was having a C-section, and they only allowed one person at the hospital until he was born. Of course, baby Oliver’s daddy, Ryan, was there, as he should have been. While I was waiting, I decided I would try to crochet a blanket for baby Oliver.
I went to Michaels and picked out a couple of colors and a needle. I had tried to crochet before and it hadn’t worked out so well, but I figured I would try again.
When I got back to their home, I attempted to start making the blanket, and I’m pretty sure I ripped it out a million times, starting over and over again until something finally worked.
To tell you the truth I don’t even know if this is a real crochet stich.
It took a lot of patience, learning how to tie the yarn together, keep the ends straight, keep the stitches about the same length, and even how to put a border around the blanket. It was a slow learning process, but after three days the blanket was finished, and I was able to give it to baby Oliver when he came home from the hospital.
Once that blanket was finished, I decided to make blankets for my other grandkids for Christmas, and another blanket for baby Oliver. A few days after starting the first one, I went back to Michaels and bought more yarn. I chose different soft blanket yarns for several of the blankets and even ordered some yarn off Amazon.
I stayed up many nights until midnight and woke early before work to keep going. At some point in the process, I decided to make blankets for all my kids and their spouses too. Crazy, I know, especially with only a few weeks before Christmas. Each blanket turned out different, even though I used the same stitch for all of them. Each one had its own colors, yarn, and layout. Each blanket is big enough to cover up with. By December 28th, the day of our family Christmas gathering, 15 blankets had been made. The picture only shows 11 because 4 had already been given to New York family.
While I was making each blanket, I found myself thinking about the person it was for and praying for them as I worked. Those prayers came quietly, in the middle of ordinary moments. Looking back now, I can see how much God was showing me through all of this.
It reminded me of how Jesus works in our lives. We don’t all look the same, and we don’t all come with the same stories, gifts, or seasons. Yet Jesus meets each of us right where we are. When we allow Him to work in us, He uses what we bring and gently shapes something good from it. Through something as ordinary as yarn and stitches, He was reminding me that He works the same way in our lives.
Just like the blankets, our lives aren’t meant to look the same. But when our lives are placed in Jesus’ hands, they have purpose. Through steady and patient work, He forms something that can bring warmth, comfort, and care to others.
This whole experience reminded me that when we stay close to Jesus and keep letting Him work, He does something truly beautiful with our lives.
