Preparing Beforehand

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Eph. 2:10

I could make this the longest blog in the world...this passage is SOOOO rich. The fact that God has prepared our works beforehand is what keeps me sane. My daughter is moving several states away, and the communication of what to do with her stuff failed. We each thought the other wanted something to happen and the resulting frustration on all of our parts was mind-boggling. But BECAUSE of it, the church is getting a bed, her friend is getting a table and chairs, and the other things will end up in homes of certain people. The result would not have been this way if communication had succeeded. Nerves may not have been frazzled, but the result is needs are being met for certain folks. So we accept this and move on.

The fact that God prepares things beforehand means He has a result in mind. We prepare our fabrics beforehand. We choose fabric, pattern, thread, batting, scissors or cutters, with a goal of making a particular thing. Ninety nine percent of the time, we get the result we set out to get. If we cut out a dress, we get a dress. If a quilt, we get a quilt. There are times they don't look exactly like we thought they would, or we might not enjoy the process, but the end product is there. There are times when the pieces go from being a dress to being cut into quilt pieces because we can tell that the original idea is not going to work out, but if we cut out a quilt, we are not going to end up with a dress. We have to know where we are going with this stuff in order to get the result. So if we spend life studying social sciences, we will not get a nursing degree. We haven't prepared for the goal and cannot achieve it in this case. But God knows what He wants us to do ultimately, which good works He wants us to achieve for His glory, and there is much comfort in that.

And we are created IN CHRIST JESUS. Being IN CHRIST is a privileged position. It's kind of like being accepted into a prestigious college. You can't be an alumnus of a college you don't attend and graduate from. You can't study there or claim their name. You can wear their tee-shirt, you can identify with their curriculum goals, like their campus, and root for their football team, but you are not ONE OF THEM no matter how much you want to be. Only God can put us in Christ, and we are accepted there by His plan and for His purposes. And it is a gift. We don't put in an application and hope we are good enough. My scores will never get me into Harvard. They will not accept me. But God reaches down in love and mercy, knowing that we are not good enough. He calls the weak things of this world because they are the ones who know their limits and are willing to let His work through us instead of us telling Him how it's going to be!

I don't know that my fabric thinks that being a part of my stash is a privilege. It would be a privilege to be in Jinny Beyer's stash or some other famous quilter...but being a part of the stash does not equate to being used. When it is incorporated into one of their quilts, hung and admired, that is when the fabric has fulfilled its purpose. And the glory doesn't go to the fabric. Jinny gets the credit. Her design, her USE of the fabric, her workmanship, get the praise. A few people will recognize the fabric itself, getting close enough to see the detail and know the source, but the point is not the individual fabric, but the overall end product – a thing of warmth and beauty with artistic attributes that show the mind of the maker. If you study quilts or dresses or fabric lines, often you can tell just by looking who the maker is. Jinny has a style, William Morris has a style, and Kaffe Fassett has a style. You can't mistake one for the other. And that is how it is with God. His fingerprints are all over us...we are made in His style and bear similarities to one another because we have the same designer. And it is good.

There have been a few times in life where I was directed in my spirit to do something that really made no particular sense. Cook 4 meats today, I was told in my heart. OK. Hmmmm. And a large family of friends showed up on our doorstep that afternoon. I was able to offer to feed them a dinner and save them going out again that day while on their journey home. I have made quilts that I had no goals for. I have purchased fabric I had no plans for. Each time it seems that there was a goal I did not know about at the time that God wanted to fulfill with it. Some things were started by me and finished by someone else, but even the preparation of it led someone else to be able to bless others with it later. God knows what we need, what we want, and what He wants to accomplish through every step of the process, even when we do not know where any of this is leading.

With the new year coming, just one day away at this writing, we do not have any idea what the days ahead will bring, but God knows. He is preparing our lives for it whether we see it, understand it, or like it. He has us IN CHRIST, so it has to be good for eternity, whether it seems good in the here and now. And if you are not IN CHRIST? He is calling you right now to understand that you AREN'T good enough, but that you are exactly what He wants! Tell Him you want to accept that gift, join that college and start learning His ways. You can't flunk out, even if you fail. Then pick up His Word and start reading...John is a good place to start...and you will begin to be shaped into the product He wants you do become and has YOU specifically designed for. I can't wait to see just how beautiful you will be when He is done transforming you from fabric to finished product!