Safe

A couple of evenings ago, we were watching a favorite show with the children. Nikki got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Duane's chair. Without asking, she crawled up into his lap and laid her head against his chest. Not a word was exchanged between either of them.
I watched this take place, and I was utterly captivated by it. I watched Duane wrap his arms around her and lay his head against hers, and a song started to go through my mind, "You will be safe in his arms, you will be safe in his arms, the hand that holds the world, is holding your heart..." **
(I quietly got up, retrieved my camera, and captured this moment forever.)

For all that our little girl knows, her daddy's arms are about the safest and best place to be! Why do I so often struggle to truly believe the same thing about my Heavenly Father?
His Word gently reminds me...

"The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" Ps. 27:1

I am thankful this day, for gentle reminders, that I have a refuge in my Father's arms. A safe place, when I am afraid, or a close place, when I  need to feel especially loved.


** I have added this song to a player that automatically starts when this blog opens. If you would like to hear it, just be sure your volume is on.

Threads

While reading from MaryJane's Lifebook for Farmgirls, this morning:

 "Any woman who sews or knits, or weaves, blends colors in a tapestry, or creates a patchwork quilt, knows by the feel that a single thread is weak. But the weaving, the blending, the intertwining with many others makes it strong. Any woman alone without friends to sustain her, to nurture and support, to hold with loving arms, like that single thread, is weak. But the weaving, the loving, the nurturing of others, the networks of friendship, makes her strong." (The Kinship of Woman, 1994)

This quote caused me to sit back and sweetly consider the "threads" that make up my knitted life. These women are not only invaluable to my well-being...but also because of our blending together, we can be strong in the things we are called to do.

I am a girl who finds herself blessed with many strong, lovely "threads". Some are old, some are young, and some find themselves in that wonderful middle of life. Some are funny, some are serious. Some laugh easily, while others cry at the drop of a hat...some do both. Some hold my hand when I'm hurt, others lovingly call me on the carpet when I'm acting poorly. Some will come running day or night, while others are there to pray without my asking. Some use humor to get through difficulties, while others simply offer a Bible verse. Some are creative, some are musical, some are skinny, some are not....but the common thread in my threads is, they are strong!

A growing number of my "threads" are sister Doulas and Midwives. They back me up in birth. The tell their stories and teach through their experiences. They give me space to process the joys of babies arriving, and then offer rock-solid arms of support, when a birth doesn't have a desired outcome. They celebrate the power of women to do what we are created to do!

I am blessed with "family threads". Moms, Grandmothers, Aunts, Cousins, Nieces, Daughters, Sisters...all such amazing girls, these threads are! They don't care who I am, where I am, why I am, or how I am! They love me, because they just do (or they have to). We married into the family, or we are blood. We didn't get to choose each other, but had we been given the chance, we so would have!

This morning, I feel like celebrating all of you... my threads. I thank my God as I consider what you have brought into my life. I look at you, and see that God is using you, in my life, to create a tapestry that someday has the potential to be breath-taking!

If you are reading this, and you find that your "yarn basket" is glaringly empty, may I encourage you to reach out to others. God created us to crave community and friendship. Accept the gift of others!

From one thread to another~
Sheila