The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
-Philippians 1:6 (NRSV)
Cory Ten Boon was a diminutive little Dutch woman whose family hid Jews in their home during the second world war. Her family was arrested and taken away to German prison camps where all of them died. Cory would have died as well except for a clerical error which released her from prison on December 31, 1944. From that day until she suffered a debilitating stroke, she traveled the world, becoming a “tramp for the Lord,” preaching the message of God’s love and salvation to whomever would listen.
Along her travels she happened to visit the college where I was attending my freshman year and spoke at at chapel service there. She told us a story about a tapestry that represented our lives. This tapestry we only see from the underside as God is adding the stitches. We see the loose threads and all the cross-over stitches and find it hard to see any sense in the design. However when the tapestry is completed and God shows us the upper side from His view, we can see the beautiful picture that He has created. We could never see it from our perspective, only when God reveals His work to us can we see the beautiful picture He is creating of our lives.
Cory knew this very well. She had suffered greatly for the kingdom of God and for doing good to others. Her world was full of choas, but God had a plan for her. She knew first hand, that God directed her life because she allowed Him to stitch the tapestry even when she could not understand the circumstances, she trusted that He had a purpose and a design.
My prayer: Lord, I trust you with the tapestry of my life. Help me to yield to your design and to understand that even when I do not see the full picture that you have a beautiful plan in mind. Let it be! Amen.
