LIFE LIKE KNITTING

by Shauna Brown 

     My mother thought it might be fun for me to learn how to knit. She was a skilled knitter herself, but realized that sometimes learning from someone else is essential. So she enrolled me in a knitting class, a class filled with middle and old aged women. At first I was a little self conscience, and worried that the ladies were watching me. At times some of them would look up from their work and reassuringly smile.  I wondered if they were thinking about the first time they held their knitting needles, were they as awkward and bungling as I felt? 

    One day that stands out and generated instant shock was when I discovered with great dismay and fear that I had lost a stitch somehow.  I hadn’t noticed it. But there it was a hole.  I was worried that I would have to unravel all of my rows of stitches and start over.  I’m sure I must have looked some shade of sick.  Seeing my chagrin Stella, my teacher, sat down quickly beside me and said so matter-a-factly, “We can fix that. We can fix mistakes, it takes a little time and a little effort, but we can do it! ” 

      I have thought about that moment many a times. I didn’t want to start all over. Yet, it was such a great learning experience. Stella showed me how  fix the mistake. Row by row she had me create a chain of stitches leading upwards. Then, as I reached the top row of stitches I could then continue on.  The mistake couldn’t even be detected. What a sense of healing. I was thrilled.  

     Life is like knitting. Some moments in life will differ, adding a variety of stitches, cabels and textures. Sometime there will be large loose stitches, while at another time the stitches need to be close and tight.  Following a set pattern is helpful. I learned early that following a pattern is essential. Errors and mistakes are lessened when I followed the directions. 

     Gratefully our Father in Heaven has not left us to our own making. We have been given directions of how we can live a happy life.  We all will make mistakes. Even if a mistake should be made, we all need to remember, ‘It can be fixed,” just like Stella said.   

   In knitting you must go to where the original drop stitch was made, correct it and carefully draw the stitches upward. Isn’t that interesting?  Upward.   

    I have thought about the following quote by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley.... we are all truly a work in progress.  

“Things work out, it isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out, don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in him, if we will pray to him, if we will live worthy of his blessings, he will hear our prayers.”    

    I believe!  So each of us need to keep knitting, and enjoy the satisfaction of life having known you accomplished something great, one stitch at a time.  

     Enjoy this Sabbath day

Warmly, Shauna Brown

Have a sunshine day. . . with a cherry on top!