“A man’s wisdom gives him patience” (Proverbs 19:11).
Many of my friends do cross-stitch, but not I. I have had it and I quit for good! Do you want to know why?
I was totally disgusted with the way people would look at my work. I would be happily stitching away and someone would inevitably say, “Let me see what you are making.”
I would hand them my sewing and do you know what they would do? Instead of looking at the picture, they would always turn it over and look at the back.
The front of my picture always looked good. But, the back … well, I took some shortcuts. I did not take time with the back because I only cared about the front. Only the part that people could see was important.
I have since learned that good embroidery is always judged by the reverse side, not the front. Almost all embroidery looks good from the front. The place to discover if embroidery is exceptional is the back. If the back is knotless, neat, and legible, the whole piece has been done well.
Embroidery takes endless patience.
Did you know that God is endlessly patient? Did you know that He wants us—His workmanship—to be perfect? That is why He keeps working on us. He keeps stirring us, forcing us to both face and fix the flaws in our character. He wants the inside that people cannot see to be as perfect as the outside, the part that is shown to the world.
Like exceptional embroidery, God’s creations are perfect throughout.
Kimberly Snider is a missionary to the Philippines.
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