Friday, November 23, 2012

Has Pride Walked Boldly Through Your Door?

My beautiful daughters and I have been busy this week.  As if all the prep work for Thanksgiving day was not enough, because of procrastination we had to really move it, move it.  A few months ago we decided that we wanted to have cool, fun-printed aprons for preparing this year's feast, so we went out and bought a pattern and fabric.  Then . . . we got distracted and didn't sew them.

So, on Friday of last week, my Just-Do-It-and-Get-It Done daughter decided we were not procrastinating any longer.  We didn't have time.  It didn't matter to her that she had never sewn anything before in her life.  I could tell that this was not one of those times I could just tell her, "I'm sorry, but I just can't.  We'll get it done for next year."  I couldn't even hide behind my fibromyalgia.  I was going to have to bite the bullet and teach her how to sew.

We dug out the sewing machine from it's home in the closet, and cleaned off a table so we could lay out the pattern and cut it out.  I stood behind her and encouraged her as I taught her what she needed to do.  I told her she was doing a great job . . . And she was - for her first attempt at sewing.  

And then it happened. . .

When sewing the skirt to the bodice, we didn't pay attention (I seem to have a problem with this!) and we sewed her bodice to the bottom of the skirt.  It didn't really matter since the skirt piece is just a big rectangle.  I asked her if she wanted to rip it out and do it correctly, but that is not Just Get It Done's nature.  So, we moved on.  She completed her apron, upside down skirt, not-so-straight seams, and slightly off tension and all.  It looks great!  Truly it does.  I am so proud of her.  

So, then, I sat down to work on my apron.  I quickly cut my fabric to match the pattern pieces.  I arranged all of my pieces in order, and made sure that I would not have to stop and search for anything.  I was pretty proud of my straight seams and my swiftness of sewing the pieces together.  I even did steps out of order because I knew what I was doing and I could save time by sewing and then pressing it all at once.  I was an expert seamstress. . .

NOT!

When sewing the facing around the arm hole, I sewed the wrong piece to the wrong side and the fabric was not going to press out right because I sewed the wrong sides together!  There was no fixing it WITHOUT ripping it out and doing it correctly.  So, I went searching for my seam ripper, but could not find it.  I had to improvise by trying to rip the seams without ripping the fabric by using a pin and scissors.  It was tedious work.  The pin wanted to bend.  I stuck my fingers.  The thread did not want to release it's hold on the fabric.  

All the time I was fuming over my error, God was talking to me about my bigger error.  Pride had walked boldly through my door.  And I had held the door open for it.  It didn't creep through the back door.  No, it strolled boldly through my front door.  I had no choice but to admit my sin, and ask my Heavenly Daddy for forgiveness.  And of course, He forgave.  He even told me it could have been worse . . . I could have bragged to Just Get It Done about my superior skills and made her feel less than the wonderful person she is.  I am so thankful that somewhere along the way, I learned to quench my critical spirit and not point out that her way of doing things was not my way of doing things.  Ya see, my way of doing things doesn't make it better, it just makes it different.  And that's okay.    

My daughter's apron is beautiful, my apron is beautiful, and my Chase the Rabbit Trail daughter is just fine with completing her apron in time to do lots of Christmas baking! Just Get It Done and I had a ball playing in the kitchen to get our feast ready on time. . . and Chase the Rabbit Trail had a ball helping us.

"The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.

Pride goes before destruction
a haughty spirit before a fall.

Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud."
Proverbs 16:17-19 



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