Single crochet, slip stitch, and chain stitch were terms I learned as I taught myself to crochet using an instructional booklet. Looking into my living room, I cherish the sight of the precious blankets handmade by my grandmother and my wife Hendrina’s mother. Inspired, I decided to challenge myself to make a gift blanket. Since it was my first attempt at crocheting, I thought I’d keep it simple—or so I planned—by making squares to slip stitch together.
Oops! While checking my stitches, I noticed a few mistakes—twisted yarn, incorrect stitches, and overly tight tension. If I ignored these errors, the whole blanket would end up crooked. I had no choice but to pull apart my work, unraveling it back to the mistakes, and start again.
This experience reminded me how important it is to examine ourselves regularly. Skipping this practice allows mistakes—or more significantly, sin—to creep into our lives. The Bible reminds us that no one is immune to sin: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Often, it’s only when problems arise that I stop to reflect, asking why I reacted inappropriately. Sometimes, I discover that the root cause was a lack of peace in my heart, often tied to an unrelated issue that clouded other areas of my life.
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).
Questions like, “Is my heart in the right place? If not, why?” or “Do I have an unrecognized agenda?” are not easy to ask ourselves. Recognizing our blind spots—like pride or self-preservation—is humbling. King David modeled this well when he prayed:
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
Thankfully, we are given opportunities to try again. Our goal is to address our offenses against God and others, so we can respond differently moving forward. Scripture guides us on what to think about (Matthew 22:37), how to react (James 1:19-20), and how to serve others (Matthew 25:40). Living out the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) helps cultivate a peaceful heart as we strive to reflect Christ.
Initially, I felt like I was losing progress each time I unraveled my work to fix mistakes. Yet sometimes, a “do-over” is necessary to fully resolve our errors—or, in life’s case, sin. In the end, the time spent paying attention to details resulted in a beautiful blanket I could offer as a gift to someone I cared for.
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Douglas Cupery, director of church engagement at Crossroads, has written dozens of monthly columns for over 3,000 volunteer mentors who study the Bible with people in prison and write encouraging letters to them. He recently published a compilation of his most memorable guidance for people writing to incarcerated men and women. His book, I See You, is available on Amazon.