Minor Burn, Car breaking down, missing hamster, lack of
writing words and work issues in less than a month – people call it “Life”, I
call it “A Rough Patch”.
Lately, I have been going through a really rough patch and I
am still in it. It also got me thinking....is this God working in me, with me,
trying to teach me a lesson or remind me of something I have forgotten?
OR....is it the Devil, trying to get me on his side, tempting me to do things I
know deep down is wrong in the eyes of my Lord? But one thing I know for sure
is if it is the Devil, he ain’t gonna win!!!
It also got me thinking about an actual cloth patch. What is
a patch used for? You rip your favourite pair of jeans. Those jeans that fit
you perfectly, feel great and you don’t want to get rid of. So you decide to
patch it. A piece of material is cut to fit past the rip and then you sew it.
If you run your fingers over the patch you can feel the rough cotton and the
smooth material. From the front, the patch looks completely smooth yet the rip
edges are rough and visible but it is sealed. The patch is there so you are not
exposed (or a body part at least).
In life, what is a rough patch used for? For me, it is
clearly to make me re-look at things, reflect and consider changing things. Yes,
it gets me down, makes me tired, stressed and then I go to training – my
escape, my release. But like most things in life, you can run away but at some
point you have to return and face it head on.
What does God tells us about rough patches? Aren’t we a
rough patch in His eyes? Maybe because we are rough patches, we experience them
as gentle reminders that this life is short and material things no matter how
we might need them aren’t as important as nurturing our relationship with God. How many times has God “patched” us up?
In the Bible, it tells us that we are the clay and God is
our potter but for the sake of this post, I also like to think that we are
God’s favourite pair of jeans and God is our tailor. He tailor made each of us and
like me, I am sure that many of us have caused tears in His material. But being
the loving God He is, he cuts a patch out of His material and gently weaves the
cotton through our pain and suffering, patching us up so we are not exposed anymore.
It also makes me wonder, how many times we have “ripped”
open the same patches and how God never complaining, always teaching, keeps
weaving the cotton, healing us, sealing us in His protection and love. He continues to wrap us up in His royal silk.
So in closing, I might be going through a rough patch but I
dwell on the thought that even though I don’t understand why (at this moment),
I know that God, my tailor, is threading His glorious needle, getting ready to
weave His cotton and “patch” me up...yet again.
He is YOUR Father and
Maker,
Who made you and
formed you.
Deut. 32:6
(and won’t stop
patching you up)
