My grandson was given a school uniform sweatshirt which was used, and it needed mending badly. The knit cuffs were badly frayed and damaged. My son brought it to me for mending in hopes that it could be salvaged one more time... to save buying another new one. This was the hardest mending challenge I had ever tackled. The cuffs looked as though they had gone through a lawn mower.
The side seams of the cuffs were separated, so I stitched those. Then I re-attached the cuffs to the sleeves where those seams were coming apart, binding the seam on the inside with many, small stitches. There were many small "runs" in one cuff, so I whipped the edges of each run together, trying to catch in each stitch of the knit so it wouldn't ravel again. Now I still had the frayed edges of the cuffs to fix, so I turned the edges inward and whipped the edges together. Then I proceeded to fix holes under the arms where the seams had split. When I got done the shirt was presentable and wearable again.
There was a real lesson in this sweatshirt. In our spiritual lives, when we don't do good maintenance, our lives will become tattered and worn. If the situation drags on too long there will be some loss. (After mending the edges of the cuffs by turning them inward, they were no longer as wide.)
There may be scars (where I mended the "runs" you could see the mending a little bit); or separation (seams were opening up); or, evidence of wear and tear (the shirt didn't look as nice as it could have, had it had care). Recognition of good values had been lost (didn't care enough about the shirt to mend it properly).
When we turn to God for "repairs" (sometimes a little late), out of His great love He will do everything in His power to heal our lives. He will tenderly and gently mend our situations. Even as I needed to "catch" every little stitch of the ravelled cuff with my needle to prevent further ravelling, God will diligently mend every aspect of our lives.
He is our Healer, and He is able to make new.....
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body, on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
I Peter 2:24 KJV
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5 KJV
© 2007 Arlene Schwartzkopf