The seam ripper is a modest but effective little tool. It can rip out errant seams, cut open buttonholes, and precisely guide tiny pieces of fabric under the sewing machine needle. It has a sharp point to cut wayward stitches and a smooth end to protect your project from tearing.
When I first began quilting I had no teacher, so I learned by trial and error. Some days I spent more time sewing in reverse with my seam ripper than forward with the machine! Now, though I am experienced, I still keep my seam ripper nearby. It helps hold the fabric in the right place, keeping my fingers clear of a sharp and dangerous needle. In addition, I do a lot of experimenting. Not all experiments turn out right the first time, so I need to remove many stitches.
I have learned to be careful not to misplace my seam ripper. Using other objects in its place is hazardous to fingers and projects.
When I find a mistake, it is tempting to ignore it in hope that the problem will simply go away. Stopping immediately and fixing the error with my seam ripper can save me untold trouble later. Overlooking mistakes does not pay. It can take ten hours to undo what took only ten minutes to stitch on a fast machine.
In my life, although I have gained years of experience, I still need Jesus beside me, just like the seam ripper in my studio. Jesus is the only one who can rip out my sin and make me new again. Ten sins or ten thousand, Jesus has the ability, the desire, and the patience to remove each one. We can lives our lives confidently, knowing that Jesus is right beside us, not only forgiving our sins, but also guiding us. We don’t have to ignore problems or make futile attempts to correct our lives on our own. That is a part of the old life, now we have the new. Colossians 3:10 NIV tells us, [You] have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV.
UPDATE | NOV 2010: This devotional essay is now available as part of a daily devotional book, We Shall Be Changed (Christy K. Robinson, editor, Review & Herald Publishing Association, 2010).
I contributed 31 essays to this book about spirituality, faith, family and daily living, three of which relate to quilting. This was my second devotional in the quilting series (read the first, The Humility Block and the third, That we may be one).