“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.” Psalms 25:4,5 “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.” Psalms 130:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Prov 3:5-6 The Lord is able to use anything to drive home a spiritual truth. The Bible is full of such stories and He continues today using people and things to convey spiritual truths. Last week, the Lord used yarn to teach me. I love doing crafts, but needless to say, I don’t always finish the projects I start. The other day, I headed for my craft supplies for another project. One item I needed was yarn. I found a half-finished crochet scarf. All I had to do was unravel it. Amidst my enthusiasm, I failed to take my time. Instead, I yanked the yarn and before I knew it, I had a big mess. The yarn was tangled in a big wad and the more I pulled on it, the tighter the knots became. Almost immediately, the first spiritual truth came to me. In my enthusiasm, I got in a hurry. Getting in a big hurry resulted in a mess that didn’t need to happen in the first place. How many times do I get in a big hurry when I should take my time and wait on the Lord? When I get in a hurry with the Lord and try to do things on my own, I get in His way and always make a mess out of it. Now I had a huge mess on my hands. I thought about throwing the whole thing away, but then I realized I needed all of the yarn to finish my other project. Slowly, I took one end and untangled a knot giving me about a foot of untangled yarn. Then I went on to another knot and another. Pleased with myself, I knew it wouldn’t take long to untangle the whole thing. That is until I encountered a really tough knot that wouldnít budge. Frustrated, I pulled harder which made the knot that much tighter. Realizing what I was doing, I focused on the first knot and forgot about the rest. Here came the second truth. How many times do I focus on events in the future? Instead I need to concentrate on what is immediately before me. Jesus tells us that we shouldn’t worry about the future. He said, “Therefore I say unto you, ‘Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.’” (Matthew 6:25,33-34) I took the tangled mess outside and sat on the patio. The birds were singing in the stillness of the morning. I was silent in my thoughts and was open to what the Lord had to say. While my hands were busy, my thoughts were focused on the Lord and what He had to say. Soon I was oblivious to my hands and instead was renewed in my spirit. Sometimes we just have to get away and get quiet for the Lord to speak. In Psalms 46:10, we read, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” The process of untangling the yarn continued off and on for the next two days. I found each time that I sat down with it, my thoughts drifted back to the Lord. I became eager to hear what He would say next. Then, without even realizing it, the last knot was undone and the once tangled yarn was ready to use. This time, I didn’t leave the craft project undone. Instead, I finished it. Now, every time I take a look at it, I will be reminded to take things at a slower pace, be patient, don’t get ahead of the Lord, and take time to listen to the Lord.