life tapestry.

I find the backside of the tapestry as interesting as the front. ~Suzanne Pretty, Artist

This is the backside of a tapestry. I can't jump straight to 'beautiful' to describe this particular picture. Not quite 'ugly' though. 'Interesting'. That's a good word for it. 'Interesting'. I wish I could see the front of the finished product. I bet that it is beautiful!

I read a post earlier this week by my pastor's wife, Lauren Chandler. I don't know Lauren personally, but I am so thankful she took the time to write out her perspective on waiting. "The Weight of Waiting," she calls her post.

"This weight is a heaviness that presses us down, sometimes on our faces. ...For those who wait on the Lord, though, it is not a weight leading to despair but instead a weight that invites us to know hope. ...This is the hope: the salvation of the Lord has come and will come again to make all things right. It has come in the form of Jesus. Because He has come, all things will be used for our good whether our waiting ends as we've hoped or not. In our waiting and in its end, we get Him."

I read and recognized the weight she described. I know that weight all too well. I've felt it and fought it a lot this semester. In the end, WE GET HIM. What greater reward could I ask for?

My patience is being tested. Waiting is hard, and trusting God is dangerous business. I know where I've been and where I am now, but I have no clue the journey God has in store for me. Trust me, it hasn't always looked like I expected or like I would have planned for myself thus far.

I see the back of the unfinished tapestry right now. As we talked about repeatedly on our trip to Israel with the Forge, my faith leaks out my eyes all too quickly. Lord, restore my hope and strengthen my faith!!

Things I know to be true:
The Lord is my FATHER - a Father who loves me much more than I love myself.
The Lord is GOOD - in a way that goes far beyond what I see right before me.
The Lord has a PLAN - and He graciously includes me in it.
The Lord is TRUSTWORTHY - in a way that no human will ever be.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:12)

He knows what my tapestry will look like. He sees it completed and calls it beautiful, front and back. All of it reflects his careful handiwork. The back will show evidence of the journey: complete with my mistakes, my strengths, my confusion, my confidence, my joy, my tears, etc. Our gracious Father, the artist I am trusting with my tapestry, uses all of that to make beautiful the tapestry, to make great His name, and to draw me closer to His heart.

In the end, we get HIM...and He is worth the wait.