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Of Bamboo Stitches...

             



                Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:2-3)

 

I’m leaning Tunisian crochet. I think I have the basic stitch down, but yesterday, I tried what’s called the Bamboo stitch. In the video, it doesn’t look hard. As far as I can tell, I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, but it’s not turning out the way I think it’s supposed to turn out. Admittedly, this is not a life-threatening situation. At best, it’s a minor thing. If this were the worst thing that ever happened in my life, people would seek me out by the millions, offering me everything they had in order to be told how to live like me (which would ruin my life!) Like pain and anger, however, the world can shrink down to our perception of what frustrates us. I don’t think I’ve lost my sense of perspective, but I could. After all, isn’t that what we do? We say the things are bigger and more important, but is the lack of proportion more reasonable because its cause is bigger? Maybe. Maybe not.

Today’s passage says that we’re to consider it all joy, no matter how big or small because it’s developing strength and goodness within us. It builds character. The picture is a C.S. Lewis quote a friend shared this morning(!) that says much the same. The challenges are life or are as much life as the easy times. As the professor notes, it’s not easy to think this through when we’re facing a trial.

Someone else shared a meme on Facebook that speaks of this same idea. It pointed out that we so often tell people to study hard and work hard, but rarely that they should study joyfully or work joyfully. But consider for a moment. Who is going to work harder – the one who finds no joy in his work, who shows up and does what he must because he must, and works hard because he’s commanded to, or the one who can’t wait to get to work and does the job because it brings him joy? And who will get more out of the work done?

As I face the frustration of the bamboo stitch not coming out the way I want it to,  it’s a stepping stone to my being able to make beautiful shawls and afghans in more than one way. It’s a trivial thing. The world will not really be a better place if I figure out the bamboo stitch. But it will be a better place if I learn to see frustrations as stepping stones to joy and stick to it rather than run away as soon as things don’t go as I want them to.

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