Needle and Thread by: @infieldsofgrace

 “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48, NIV)

I wonder who she was. What she dreamed about. Did she have a husband and children? How old was she? Was she happy? Was she struggling to understand her life’s purpose? What did she think about? Was she tired, drained? I wonder if her hands were blistered or crippled with arthritis. Did her neck and shoulders hurt at the end of her workday?

We know nothing about her; not even her name. Yet she holds a critical place in history. Not one of prominence or notoriety, but instead behind the scenes of a story that has been passed down through the ages and will continue to be for all of eternity.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:42-48, NIV)

You may think I’m referring to the woman directly spoken of in this story. The one who touched the hem of His garment.

No.

I’m talking about the one who made His garment. The one who stitched the hem.

The seamstress.

The one who sewed the cloak that He would wear on this very day. I wonder if she had ever met Jesus. If she had, did she know that this robe sewn by her tired hands would one day drape over her Prince’s arms and shoulders of mercy, healing and grace?

Did she know that she was sewing for royalty?

She had probably sewn and sewn and sewn these cloaks many times before. But did she have any idea that her purpose was to create the garment that would be the very catalyst for another woman, sick and bloody, to receive the healing power of Christ? Did she know that God would use what she sewed to deliver healing to the life of someone she may never meet? Did she know that the legacy of her simple handiwork would live for eternity?

I wonder if she ever felt bored with her job. Numb. Tired. Uninspired. I wonder if she ever cried out to God to allow her to do something more meaningful…more impactful…more important than her seemingly mundane daily task.

I wonder if she was someone like me.

Did she know that the power of God would flow from what she created with her own two hands and a simple needle and thread?

I’ll bet she had no idea…

And neither do I. Neither do you.

 

Melissa is an itinerant speaker/teacher, blogger and author residing in the South.  She is single (although she prefers the term “unclaimed treasure”) and lives with her two children, Henry and Hannah, who are “technically” canine (ssshhhh… they don’t know they aren’t human).  Her vision and passion for ministry is to shepherd others to the grace, hope, healing, and restoration found only in Jesus Christ!  Through her own life journey, God has transformed her heart, and she has experienced the true meaning of “beauty from ashes”.

You can connect with Melissa through her web site, at www.infieldsofgrace.com

I Can Help. by: Melissa Driggers

Creative Commons Public Domain license

His bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you…” Genesis 49:24-25

When I was a little girl, I remember dancing in the living room with my Mom, on our rust-colored shag carpet, in front of our shiny chrome entertainment center and “hi-fi” turntable/8 track/AM-FM combo. 

Yes, I’m officially old!

Our favorite song was called “I Can Help”, by Billy Swan. When it came on, if I was in another room playing with my Barbies or in my play kitchen, I would run…not walk, but run…all the way across the house to meet Mom in the living room, with the ruffled hem of my favorite little yellow daisy-covered nightgown flying behind me. She would have dropped whatever she was doing as well and would be faithfully standing there, waiting for me. This was our song!  Dancing with her to this song is one of my most precious memories with Mom.

The lyrics of this old classic go something like this…

”If you’ve got a problem, I don’t care what it is.
If you need a hand, I can assure you this,
I can help, I’ve got two strong arms, I can help.
It would sure do me good to do you good,
Let me help…”

There was a part in the song that slowed down a little, and we would move from our freestyle “boogie” pace to a slower one, and I would stand on Mom’s feet. I was good at the freestyle portion of our dance, but when it came to coordinated movements, I was too little to understand or to make any sort of synchronized slow dance steps with her (and sadly, my dance skills have never really improved). So she would gently guide me to stand on her feet and would hold my hands to guide me through the moves. I was able to keep my balance and sway and step along with her to the sweetest part of the song. It was beautiful, and she held me while I wobbled, her experienced and grownup hands and feet guiding my tiny, inexperienced ones.

And then there was my sister, Lorri.  She would hold my hand as she taught me to write in cursive…at age five. Yep, age five! (She also taught me to read by the time I was four!) I skipped a grade in school because of Lorri…none of us are surprised that she grew into the most amazing teacher ever. She would forego time after school playing with her friends to teach me how to read and write. Even at her very young age, she would sit behind me, holding my tiny little hands and guiding me to shape the letters correctly. Just as Mom’s feet had steadied me when we danced, Lorri’s hands around mine kept them steady and allowed me to create words in script.

God blessed me with wonderful parents and sisters to guide my hands and feet as they taught me so many things. Because of their steadiness, my hands and feet remained limber and could carry out the task at hand. Their strength, sureness, and firmness allowed me freedom of movement to dance and to create.

And there is yet another One who places His hands over ours and holds them strongly, tenderly and steadily: 

Genesis 49:24-25: His bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you…”

What a beautiful picture of the omnipotent, sovereign, Almighty God of Jacob, and Rock of Israel. The One who tenderly, sweetly, firmly and gently places His hands over ours, as we rest in his strength so that we too can freely learn, dance, create, and sometimes fight the enemy’s archers shooting at us.

God, may I never lose my identity as your child, with my Abba Daddy’s strong hands and feet guiding mine, as I dance…

“If you’ve got a problem, I don’t care what it is.
If you need a hand, I can assure you this,
I can help, I’ve got two strong arms, I can help.
It would sure do me good to do you good,
Let me help…”

Melissa is an itinerant speaker/teacher, blogger and author residing in the South.  She is single (although she prefers the term “unclaimed treasure”) and lives with her two children, Henry and Hannah, who are “technically” canine (ssshhhh… they don’t know they aren’t human).  Her vision and passion for ministry is to shepherd others to the grace, hope, healing, and restoration found only in Jesus Christ!  Through her own life journey, God has transformed her heart, and she has experienced the true meaning of “beauty from ashes”.

You can connect with Melissa through her web site, at www.infieldsofgrace.com