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 God's
Embroidery
When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I
would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was
doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. I told her that it
looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched
her w
that she
held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from
where I sat.
She would smile at me, look down and gently say, "My son, you go
about your playing for awhile, and when I am finished with my
embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my
side."
I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the
bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes
would pass and then I would hear Mother's voice say, "Son, come
and sit on my knee." This I did only to be surprised and thrilled
to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not believe it, because
from underneath it looked so messy.
Then Mother would say to me, "My son, from underneath it did look
messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-drawn
plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at
it from my side and you will see what I was doing."
Many times through the years I have looked up to my Heavenly Father
and said, "Father, what are You doing?" He has answered,
"I am embroidering your life." I say, "But it looks
like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why
can't they all be bright?"
The Father seems to tell me, "My child, you go about your
business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to Heaven
and put you on My knee and you will see the plan from My side."
Author
Unknown
The
Kite and it's String
Once on a time a paper kite
Was mounted to a wondrous height,
Where, giddy with its elevation,
It thus expressed self-admiration:
"See how yon crowds of gazing people
Admire my flight above the steeple;
How would they wonder if they knew
All that a kite like me can do!
Were I but free, I'd take a flight,
And pierce the clouds beyond their sight,
But, ah! like a poor pris'ner bound,
My string confines me near the ground;
I'd brave the eagle's towering wing,
Might I but fly without a string."
It tugged and pull, while thus it spoke,
To break the string--at last it broke.
Deprived at once of all its stay,
In vain it tried to soar away;
Unable its own weight to bear,
It fluttered downward through the air;
Unable its own course to guide,
The winds soon plunged it in the tide.
Ah! foolish kite, thou hadst no wing,
How could'st thou fly without a string!
My heart replied, "O Lord, I see
How much this kite resembles me!
Forgetful that by thee I stand,
Impatient of thy ruling hand;
How oft I've wished to break the lines
Thy wisdom for my lot assigns?
How oft indulged a vain desire
For something more, or something higher?
And, but for grace and love divine,
A fall thus dreadful had been mine."
--John Newton
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GOD
MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS
God moves
in a mysterious way
His wonder to perform
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failings
He treasure up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
Ye clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessing on your head
Judge not by the Lord by feeble sense,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his work in vain:
God and his own interpreter
And he will make it plain.
By William Cowper
~My New Coat, God~
I
have a new coat, it was designed by God and given to me by Jesus Christ.
All I had to do to receive this coat was to believe in God's only Son.
I
find it fits me perfectly unless I allow myself to become puffed up with
foolish pride, then it's too tight. If I walk with my head high, trying
to be above those about, then it is too short. But if I walk humbly as I
should before God, it fits me just right.
How
is the coat made?
The
shoulders are wide and roomy so that I can help my fellow man carry his
burdens.
The
collar is made of God's mercy, yes, the mercy of God's promises. First
that I may become his child and second, that I will one day dwell with
Him in that home prepared for His saints.
The
cuffs are narrow, so that there is no room to tuck away grievance and
hard feelings toward my neighbors.
The
pockets are oversized, One is for the love of God; the other is to hold
my love for my fellowman and all humanity.
There
are three buttons on my coat, which stands for faith, hope and charity.
I check on them often so that none becomes loose or lost.
The
lining is made of God's forgiveness, which I need so often that I want
it next to me at all times.
The
belt is made of God's love that encircles me everyday.
The
material is thick enough to protect me when the storms of life come my
way, but not too thick that I will not be able to feel the presence of
the Holy Spirit who guides me.
There
are many threads in my new coat, but not one thread of doubt that God's
promises are true,
Do
you wonder about the color of my coat? Why, it's the color of Jesus'
eyes that must sparkle when a lost soul accepts Him.
I
will need my coat all through life. When I travel through the valley of
death and when I view the future, I will always wear my new coat.
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