I have had a love affair with fiber for most of my life. It probably began when I first stabbed a sharp needle, threaded with a length of colored thread, through a piece of fabric. Anchoring the thread first in one direction and then the other, my efforts left a crooked X on top of the stamped picture on the pillow case my mother had prepared for me.  Over the years I have moved away from cross stitching on stamped fabrics and discovered the joys of numerous forms of ethnic and regional embroideries. Using cotton, linen, woolen, metallic and silk threads, I have embellished canvas, cotton and linen fabrics. I love the opportunity to be creative and productive, to share the finished product with someone I love, and to feel the connection with women down through history who spent precious time making everyday items not just functional, but beautiful to behold.

About four years ago a new friend offered to teach me to spin, opening up a different world of fiber to me. My shelves now house a growing collection of handspun yarns waiting to “speak to me” and tell me just how they might best be put to use.  The spinning process has also led me to explore the world of fiber preparation and dyes, as I experiment with a variety of ways to handle the fleece and to alter the natural colors of the animal’s wooly growth.

My latest foray into the fiber world involves a decision to learn to weave while I am here in Dallas. It’s just one more way to make use of the gorgeous yarns that are spilling from my spindle faster than I can knit them and begging to be put to use in some creative and unique way.

What does all this talk of fibers have to do with ministry?  I have found that within the world of fibers that I love there can be found a plethora of metaphors that relate to the ways in which God shapes and uses each of us in a unique way for ministry. Embellishing a piece of plain fabric with lopsided Xs, turning sheep’s clothing into a pair of soft, warm winter mittens, or weaving together a variety of threads to create a cohesive piece of usable cloth all bring to mind the steps taken by the Creator to ensure our personal beauty and unique function in the larger scheme of creation.

Spinning and weaving are my current passions and offer particularly rich sources of connections between my pastime and my spiritual journey. Beginning with the dirty, raw fleece from the back of a farm animal, I wash and rinse, card and spin to create a single ply of yarn, then ply two or more strands together for strength and design before exposing the yarn to heat in order to set the twist and prepare it for use. Think about how God takes our often dirty, broken lives, washes us clean through baptism, pairs us up with others of faith, and exposes us to the heat of experiences that will prepare us for whatever we are called to do. In recognizing these connections, I can now spin a story yarn, sharing with you some of the joys and sorrows along my own path of discipleship, waiting eagerly to hear yours. Together our stories form the yarns that make up the fabric of our life in Christ.

Stop by my office sometime and I’ll share with you some examples of the various steps in the spinning process and we’ll talk about where you can find your own stories in the stages of the yarn-making and the disciple-making processes.

Blessings—
Kathy