The Underside of The Tapestry

Have you ever looked at the underside of a tapestry? It is not very pretty. There are random threads going here and there with seemingly no design or pattern. There may be knots or a loose thread or two, and it can be very unappealing to the average eye. But if you turn the tapestry over, a beautiful pattern appears and the finished item brings delight to the viewer's eyes and to their hearts.

There is a song called,..."I Can Only Imagine"...and it goes on to question what heaven will be like, and what the singer will do when he sees Jesus. Well until we turn over that tapestry and gaze at the completed product we can't even imagine the beauty we shall see in heaven. Here on earth we experience only the "underside" of the tapestry,...the weavings of our Master, as he adds new threads and different colors into our lives. Sometimes there is a glimpse of the beauty we will behold...such as when we view a morning sunrise, or an evening sunset, or as we gaze at the ocean as it rolls back and forth with great unseen power...or as we point our heads upwards to see the peak of a mountain top covered in snow, or a tall tree with a bounty of colorful leaves as it sways in the wind. Or as we see the first crocus poke through the snow covered ground, or a hyacinth, or a jonquil to remind us that spring has come. Times when we stare at a shining lake that sparkles in the sun, and reflects like a mirror, and our breath is taken away at it's beauty.

But there are other threads that the Weaver allows into the tapestry of our lives at times that are not so pleasant. Things like tornadoes, or floods, or fires in a beautiful forest. There are riptides in that beautiful ocean, and tsunamis. There are avalanches in those mountains, and all of these things can bring distress, sorrows and pain. They are like big ugly knots in the tapestry and we don't understand why they are there. To make it more personal, there are times when people we love get sick or die. There are financial hardships when people lose their jobs or are unable to work. There are times of trials and we often do not understand what is going on, or why the Weaver has allowed these things to happen. The winds blow hard and the leaves fall off those lovely trees. The branches are sometimes broken. BUT the tree actually gets stronger from the storms that blow so hard as it stands against their forces. After the fires, the green still appears on the forest floors. The Master allows the wheat fields to be burned to make for more crops to spring forth again after the new seeds are planted. Hopefully we learn and grow and change as we lean on Him through these times when things get all knotted up in our lives. And the tapestry continues to get bigger and more full of confusing lines and patterns that to us make absolutely no sense!

Well, I don't think they will ever make sense to us until we do see the other side of the tapestry when we are in heaven. In fact I think the finished tapestry is our life in heaven with our Master Weaver! There is some beauty here on earth but it is a beauty that has been marred with the sinful deeds of man. Heaven will not be marred. There will not be the knots and loose threads. Everything will come together and make sense. The completed tapestry will tell a story of His goodness. Questions will be answered,...but we probably won't even care, or even want to remember the trials we have experienced here on earth as the Lord has been weaving our lives for our good and to suit His purpose and to bring Glory to Himself. I think we will rejoice forever more and praise our Weaver as we see the finished product. Let's have faith in this life that He isn't finished with us yet. That each thread He weaves into our lives is a needed thread to bring more beauty. Let's be thankful that He thinks we are worth the time and efforts to work on our tapestries at all. And may we offer the beautiful finished product at his feet and humbly bow upon them in His presence! Amen? Selah! (Meditate on this!)