The tapestry of life… a montage of all that once was to all we’ve become and soon will be, all which occupies our life and dreams, and all which defines who we are in the depth of our heart. 

Wouldn’t it be neat to see a tapestry of scenes from your life… like the movie we see in our mind’s eye as we reflect back over the years? And from all those experiences in which we learned and grew emotionally and spiritually, what a journey it would tell!

I’d like to think my tapestry would show a woman who has grown wiser over the years… for I am well aware of my youthful immaturity and inherent failings.  But, woven throughout would also be the golden threads of friends, mentors and teachers who came alongside and taught me with loving encouragement.

Having made small embroideries, larger crewel embroidered scenes, counted cross-stitch projects, and many quilts over the years, the fronts display their beauty.  The back, however, can be a different story.  Hidden from view are threads that meander in a wayward fashion to the next section, or even hide mistakes – rather like my life!  But I also believe that the ups and downs and errors of life which those threads represent have all happened for a reason.  As one of my favorite authors, Corrie ten Boom, once wrote, “Although the threads of my life have often seemed knotted, I know, by faith, that on the other side of the embroidery… there is a Crown."  (Corrie ten Boom, 1974. “Tramp for the Lord: The Story that Begins Where The Hiding Place Ends”, p.12, CLC Publications)

It’s so reassuring to know that our life experiences have an intended meaning and purpose… that we might gain a wisdom we could not have learned otherwise.  Nothing can beat the exciting happy times we all enjoy!  But, it’s especially in understanding the depths of pain and sadness through losses suffered or mistakes made that we grow wiser as God guides us through our difficulties. How often we find that from those life experiences the Lord positions us to come alongside someone else who might be struggling and in need of an emotional lift.  For we, too, have tucked away memories of treasured friends who traveled beside us when we were in need.  Though we may not think of it that way, they are, indeed, the gems of our life… just as we are for others. And thank you for being a gem in my life!

With these thoughts, I was reminded that “...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV)  Through our patchwork experiences, we bring our worship of “praise…to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”  (II Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV) 

What a cherished thought to know that whatever we go through, God will work it out for our good, our benefit, when our trust is placed in Him.  From the blessings He gives to the difficulties He allows to come our way, may we grow in wisdom and, in turn, be used by our Lord to bless others as life’s gems! 

Life’s tapestry… that which God has woven as His masterpiece of our life… a testimony to those around us… a visual reminder of how great His love is for each one of us, tarnished and faded though we may be.  We really do have a purpose in this world… in living for and serving our Lord and others with joy in our heart!

Life’s Tapestry Gems

Linda A. Roorda

Woven within the tapestry of life

Are threads of gold among the diverse.

These colorful scenes, a journey of years

Depict a life in memories treasured.

~

Memories like dreams elusive and wary

Some haunting echoes, some images clear

Some melancholy, some bursting with joy

Of all which dwells within my soul.

~

This soul You knew from before my birth

For You’ve called me Yours since time began.

You wove the threads in skillful pattern

Of who I was to who I am now.

~

For I am unique, a special design

The only version which You created.

And all of my life with its joys and tears

Helped weave the me who I have become.

~

These memories dear like gentle footprints

Bring quiet joy within my heart

To recall a world of growing wiser

With scenes that flood the gates of my soul.

~

As memories transport through all that once was

And draw me in to contemplate

Emotions run strong and images lie deep

From another time and another place.

~

Memories thus treasured and savored anew

Serve their purpose in visions tempered

By value and worth from sadness and joy

To understand life as it now presents.

~~

Refining the love within my heart

Of those who walk among the threads

In vivid hues of brightly lit scenes

To bring a warmth and smile in my heart.

~

For the King of Light has woven my life

In mosaic rich and design unique

Of a life well lived through blessing and trial

In treasured scenes on tapestry rare.

~

Thus memories and dreams, threads of a lifetime

Have woven the fabric of this my life

While you, my friends and dearest loved ones

Are interwoven as tapestry gems.

~~

2014