Oh the relief…
Last night I attended the monthly Crafts and Coffee event at church…
although…
now that I think about it, I don’t think they were offering coffee…
ok…sorry…I’m back.
I was a little later, and I mean later than my usual five minutes, so everyone was already busy at work at the small tables in our cafe area when I arrived.
All that activity and creativity was like an adrenaline rush, so I moved around the various groups to admire the different projects and say hi to everyone.
There was a beautiful, three layered shawl emerging from one friend’s circular needles that I may possibly have coveted.
Mint green, rosy pink and magenta all knit into delicate lace ruffles…It was so pretty that I hovered long enough to develop a deep desire to craft one of those babies in the near future.
Then there was the little gal with her bead box open, fashioning her amazing earrings.
Oh that looked fun and I do have a box of beads and the tools to make jewelry, so the seed was planted to drag those out sometime soon as well.
As my head was spinning with all the plans that were crowding in to an already overpacked to do list of incomplete projects, my eyes rested on the leader of our group as she sat at her spinning WHEEL.
Seriously.
The girl spins yarn…out of fiber she has dyed. Herself.
I asked her if she made the dye, and thank goodness for both of us she doesn’t, because I am not sure I could have handled much more amazement.
She sat there feeding what looked like colorful insulation into this brown, wheeled, gizmo…smiling and pedaling with her cute little feet, chatting with me as nimble fingers fed the fluff into the part that turned it into…I don’t know…yarn? thread?
And all of a sudden I realized the blessed peace of relief that I get when people talk about running a marathon.
Because I have absolutely no desire to do any of that, ever.
Not dye fiber.
Not spin fiber.
Not run a marathon.
Not even a half of desire to do a half of a marathon.
(The only thing I remotely might consider is raising alpacas and sheep FOR the fiber, because I am such a magnet for the animal kingdom…that I think I might actually have a knack for shepherding…plus…great blog material potential in ranching, I would think…)
And so I sank into a chair next to her, laughing and we talked about how great it is when you realize you really don’t care if you ever get good at something.
She acknowledged that she had done the same with the concept of improving her cooking repertoire and has peaceful contentment serving the meals she has mastered up to this point, thank you very much.
In this Pinterest driven, FaceBook….15 minutes of fame…so many great ideas, so little time world…isn’t it grand when we can eliminate some things off our list because we know…good on you if you can do it and I will just applaud you with absolutely no envy or sense of competition or drive to learn this skill; because I am happy to be a spectator in your arena!
Hallelujah!
So what are your interests that draw you like a moth to a flame?
And what are those things that you love to watch in others, but are quite content to never ever feel pressured to learn?
Isn’t it wonderful that we can appreciate each others gifts and interests, whether they are mutual or wildly different?
AND………..
If you are interested in checking out a little more about my sweet and talented spinning friend, I received permission to share her new website with you….you will find her at ….
//www.andreagrundendesigns.com/
God bless you all in whatever you love to do and cheers for those things you feel free to pass on!
See you tomorrow!
Again,and again, Laura, you touch my heart! Thanks for sharing. I was feeling envious of Sarah being able to travel and do mission work for our Lord because that is always what I wanted to do. But the Lord also spoke to my heart that I could take joy in seeing him work in others whose lives I have touched. You know He is awesome!
I have tears reading this…Sarah was able to go because of you and your love and support and the ministry you have been of mother and grandmother <3 Even as we surrender our dreams for good things we wanted to do, but were not able to...God sees that as a precious gift to Him. God bless you Jeanette <3
Forgive me if this becomes longwinded, but I wanted to share what your very well written and heartfelt message reminded me of. It has taken a long time for me to see how God truly gives us the desires of our heart as we live in obedience to him and desire Him above all else. He also shapes our desires before we truly have a grasp on what the desires of our hearts truly are. Recently I received a revelation about this. He knows us better than we know ourselves and there is great comfort in that. At the same time, until He becomes everything and THE only thing to us, we may not be totally content in who we are. That is what I was thinking as I read your blog today. I too have had similar feelings as I observed other women living the lives they had created for themselves, or that God led them to live. I watched and thought that who I was wasn’t some how enough. I erroneously concluded that they were better in some way than I was. Both of these conclusions along with others put me in a place that was not where God intended me to be. I hadn’t yet fully understood my identity in Christ. I wasn’t confident in who God had created me to be. I hadn’t yet stepped into the fullness of the abundant life God had offered to me. But praise God, because I have now come to the place where I KNOW He has given me the desires of my heart. The things in my life that I previously viewed as my shortcomings, (having only an Associates Degree, limited travel experiences, less than exciting life experiences, lack of a perceived outstanding family life, etc.) all have paled in comparison to the revelation that the life I now live suits me so well and has brought me to a place of contentment that I cherish. I now feel sorry to some degree for the people I thought once “had it all”, or were somehow better off than I was. Knowing that I wouldn’t trade places with any of them for all the tea in China is comforting. Knowing that I have been “wired” the way I am and that God has so perfectly placed me into the life I’m living gives me great peace. I appreciate every gift I’ve been blessed with. I guess the bottom line is that I’m finally secure in my value to God and that’s all I need. With that security comes the okayness , as you’ve presented, to sit back and enjoy the talents and abilities in others and appreciate them for who they are and to truly be okay with the fact that their “thing” doesn’t have to be my “thing.” Thanks for sharing you heart and God’s word.
Oh I hope everyone EVERYONE EVVVVVEEEERRRRYYYOOONNEEEE will take time to read your comment Susan <3 You definitely have summed up what I would hope to convey in this post and just about every other one...HE IS the desire of my heart...and has touched me and changed me and THAT is why I am compelled to open up my life that I would SO LOVE to keep private and share it with whoever happens to find this blog. Thank you Susan <3 You are a true gift from God to me <3
Laura, I know that Jesus is your everything. When your desire is to bring glory and honor to His name and to share His kingdom, love, grace, and gift of salvation with the world, you make your heart known. To bear one’s soul in an effort to spread the gospel shows you are a true believer. Thanks for your witness! Thanks for your transparency! To God be the glory!
Thank you for your words of encouragement Susan <3 God bless you as you minister to me and so many God sends your way!
I can so relate to this! I have a closet full of “stuff” I thought I wanted to try but realized I don’t have the desire to really do. I need to visit craft night and donate!
Don’t we all!!!! It’s so freeing to realize it’s ok to just appreciate what others do and then do your thing! Please come and donate, bring what you love to do…or just come and visit with the generations of women gathered there!!! So good for the heart !!! Fourth Monday of the month at FCC 6-8 PM Bring a friend or more!
Love where you are
amen girl!