Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Tortured Metaphors and Faith

A rather large tear has ruined my beautiful quilt. Jagged and uncompromising, it offers a window to the turmoil beneath.

Do I unstitch the whole square or do I just darn the hole?

Life is not meant to be smooth sailing, there are currents and rapids to endure; as I go through those right now I haven take pause to wonder whether or not I am handling it correctly.

I have friends who have blind faith; faith in God or faith in other beliefs. As the maelstroms of life toss those friends about, I see them clinging on to their faith; even through pained eyes they are steadfast; “everything happens for a reason” or “it is God’s will”.

Whether or not it is through that faith that I see them at a later stage, in calmer waters, buoyed through the storm remains a mystery to me. But I know they believe that God saw them through.

At my end, I spend my time painstakingly stitching the tears together, mindful that what once was a beautiful flat surface is now marred by evidence that something ugly traversed through its very fabric, seeking to undo the threads that hold it together. Each stitch is a reminder of what has passed and testament to my endurance. Some stitches are painful to gaze upon.

So, would it not be better if I too believed in a God of miracles? A God who would toss me in the fire, them pull me out, stronger than before? Or am I safe in rolling up my sleeves and doing damage control myself?

1 comment:

  1. Hhmmm...
    IMHO, God doesn't just do everything for you. He has given you the brain and the abilities he expects you to use.
    You can't get yourself neck deep in debt and then pray he'll get you out of it- you'll have to do some work too.
    When you're dealing with illness or accident, you do everything in your power to get you through it, and you have Him as backup to guide you.
    Does that make sense?

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