A simple act of knitting three stitches and purling three stitches repeated again and again slowly becomes a prayer shawl. (A 2005 post) The shawl is offered with prayer to those who need to be reminded of God’s presence in their lives. However, this has also been a gift of God’s renewing and sustaining grace in my own life as I have practiced what has become a contemplative act during these last few years.
These days, as the tremors in my right hand challenge me, my knitting has taken on a greater significance in my life. Just as I have to accept that now I knit slower and struggle for even stitches and heartfelt prayers, there has become a greater compassion for others who face physical and spiritual tests. This has opened a door that I have yet to truly enter. I can’t accept my limitations, so it is difficult to honestly minister to others. As I look at my latest half-finished prayer shawl, I realize that God is not finished with me either. I know that I need to keep asking and answering the questions that will reveal a wholeness in this life, but too often the courage is lacking. Let me hear these words: “On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.” Psalm 62:7
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