began knitting a sweater last February. I am using yarn that belonged to my mother-in-law and I think of her as I knit and am reminded how much she enjoyed making garments for her family and friends. I chose a pattern that has a cabled yolk and I followed the directions for the back and the front and for most of the sleeves. After measuring for the sleeves as best I could, I thought I would have the right length by leaving out an inch under the arm and decided to deviate from the pattern. I was almost done with both sleeves when I realized to my horror that the inch I left out caused the cabled sleeve to be an inch shorter than the front and back. I had not figured correctly and I knew that I would have to redo about 12 hours of knitting to make it right!

About that time the Lord seemed to say to me, “Jane, it pays to trust and follow directions and it pays to trust and follow Me. Someone had designed this sweater pattern for you to follow and I know what is best for you in life.”

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Why does it take me so long to trust and obey? Why do I have to learn the same lesson over and over again?

As I pondered that thought a few more thoughts came to mind.

1. God loves me and His way of doing things is always better than mine. Following Jesus saves lives and heartache. I can trust Him with my life. I can trust the pattern too. Someone else has knit it before me and it proved to be correct.
    

2. God knows all the details. He knows the beginning and the end for He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Even when I can’t ‘see’ what a difference little decisions make, He does. Even though I couldn’t see what a seemingly insignificant change in the pattern would make, the final garment was an inch short of what it was designed to be.
    

3. God is patient. When I choose to deviate from His path, he waits for me to admit my mistake. My decisions carry consequences. Sometimes pride gets in the way between me and God. I choose to do things my way so basically I leave Him out of my life. God’s love for you and me is all encompassing and He urges us back into His circle no matter how many times we fall.
   
   Sometimes I don’t want to admit that I made a knitting error either and I don’t want to take the time to fix it. The interesting thing is, though, that unless I admit the mistake and fix it, I will see that error every time I look at that garment. I may even choose never to wear it or get rid of it all because it I chose to ignore my mistake.
    

4. When I make a mistake, God calls it a sin; but God doesn’t discard me. No. He whispers, “Jane, come back, repent and begin again. I’ll help you through this.” Hallelujah, what a God we serve! I can admit my mistake while knitting, too, and rip out the error. Nothing is really lost but some time and in the end, I’ll enjoy wearing it, knowing that I did the right thing.

Well, dear one, we all have times when we go off the path and do our own thing. We need to remind one another that God is still the God of prodigals and is waiting patiently for us with open arms to return to Him. Let’s encourage one another to trust and obey the Lord. As the song goes: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. By the way, my sweater is done and I’d be happy to show it to you!