Two Stitches

I had a goal for 2013. I was determined to learn how to knit. Amazingly enough, I succeeded! Now, I’m no expert, that’s for sure. I have had to restart each of the three Christmas gifts I am knitting at least twice because of mistakes. One has been restarted four times so far. I have a long way to go. But, I know the basics, and I am thrilled! This has been a long-standing desire of mine.

One thing I have learned is that knitting is basically made up of two stitches. The designs and patterns seem endless, but it all comes down to those two stitches and their combinations. It’s fascinating to me.

Many different types of needles create variation in those two stitches. Different yarns produce different looks. You can knit a flat row of stitching or knit in the round. The stitches can be combined in various ways for different looks. They can even be twisted to create various textures. But still, it all comes down to two stitches.

Knitting needles can be used for activities other than knitting, but they only truly accomplish that one task perfectly. When they are used properly to create variations on those two little stitches, the end result is beautiful.

Meanwhile, only knitting needles and machines can produce the stitches that make knit products so unique. Other tools produce other effects, but nothing else offers that knit look.

What a neat picture this gives of our life and work in Christ. We are all created for the singular purpose of living in union with God through Jesus Christ. Yet we come to that in a variety of ways. Our various personalities go into the relationship, and the results vary greatly as well.

We get off base when we try to focus on something other than what we were created to do. The same happens when we try to accomplish the task with something other than what God has built into us. Or when we try to make this life much more complicated than it is. Or when we try to copy the textures that different personalities produce.

We can also be frustrated when we see other believers producing different textures. Some of those textures are not made with real “knit” stitches. They reflect personalities which have been distracted from their intended purpose, and they distract us from the textures we are supposed to create with our own lives. But others are real – they’re just different. Oh what beauty we create when we’re all free to knit the designs and textures that God created us for!

You and I were created with a singular purpose. When we live according to that purpose, the product is phenomenal! May we live to fulfill that purpose today!