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Monday Meditations - Mend


Mend

This is another one of my favorite words this year. My friend, Maureen, who suggested it, also gave some definition ides, and I plan on hitting every single one of them. I grew up around a sewing machine. My mom had a home based sewing business where she created Civil War clothes, from soldier's uniforms to beautiful ball gowns. I helped her whenever I could.

My parents in clothes my
mom made.
My brother and me in
CW clothes of our own.
My mom's talent never ceased to amaze me. She would sew clothes for us girls. She would fix the holes my brother would get in his clothes. Her talents at mending could make things seem almost new, or, one of the things she taught me well was to give a worn out item a brand new purpose. One year while making costumes for a Christmas play at our church, she took an old, holey tablecloth and made it into a perfect head covering for Mary.


To say the least, I know a bit about mending with a needle and thread.

There are other aspects of life where a little mending may be necessary. I can't help but think of relationships. How many of us have strained relationships that could use a little mending? Maybe we haven't been there for someone as much as we should. Maybe a snarky comment we made in jest was hurtful. Even if the snag wasn't our fault, maybe we need to be the bigger person and offer up an apology or forgiveness anyway. A little love and compassion can go a long way.

One of the most important aspects of mending can be of our own hearts. Life is full of hurts and disappointments that may have happened outside of our control. When a loved one dies, there's nothing we can do. It's painful and it can take a long time to heal. There are also times when people can cause us great pain. Some of those people are no longer in our lives for a variety of reasons, but the pain they caused still lingers. How can we deal with that? Look to the One who is the ultimate Healer of hearts. He is the Great Physician, a Healer of all kinds of hurts. He has words for us; we just have to open the Bible and study them. God can mend our broken hearts.

There are no pat answers for the circumstances and people that hurt us, but we can hand our hearts over to God when we need healing. He will hold us in the shelter of His wings until we are mended and ready to fly again.

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart" (Psalm 91:4).

Comments

  1. Melissa HendersonFebruary 18, 2019 at 10:00 AM

    Mending relationships can take time and patience. With God's help, we can work on mending those relationships one moment at a time. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruth O'NeilFebruary 18, 2019 at 10:06 AM

      They can take a lot of time to mend, even years. But it's so worth it in the end. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. Priscilla KingFebruary 22, 2019 at 11:56 AM

    Nice post...I know how to mend but never seem to make the time to do it. I'd rather write more, knit more, and walk around with visibly damaged clothes, held together if necessary with safety pins.

    (What, it's not enough to be phenomenal? I have to be *perfect* too? Forget that!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ruth O'NeilFebruary 22, 2019 at 1:13 PM

    LOL! I have long hair and I find it covers a multitude of sins...or holes...or rips...or loose threads...etc.

    ReplyDelete

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