Basketweaving and Change

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Photo courtesy of Czarephani
I was contemplating the idea of change today when the Lord gave me a beautiful metaphor that I think is worth sharing. You see change is one of those things that, even though it is inevitable, we often resist it. Sometimes it is good to resist change because it is for the worse but the opposite is also true and if change is for the better and brings us closer to the will of God we need to do it whether we like it or not. Change though, however necessary, can break people and organizations if not done with care. This is where the metaphor comes into play.

My grandmother on my mother's side of the family, Mimi to be exact, used to weave baskets. She made big baskets, small baskets, round baskets and square baskets. There were all kinds and made out of all shapes and sizes of wood slats. One day I was with Mimi and Pop-pop down at the lake house and she was going to teach me how to make a basket. Well, the first thing that we had to do was take all the slats of wood and soak them for a couple of hours in water. The reason being, if we tried to weave with dry wooden pieces they would snap and break before we could weave them into a basket. However, after they had soaked up enough water they became very pliable and easy to make into whatever shape the form was.

I believe that change in our lives and churches is much the same as weaving a basket. If we swoop in and try to make all kinds of changes we run the risk of breaking something. However, if we soak ourselves and our congregations in the Living Water and the Word long enough, when change comes God will be able to mold us into the shape He has planned. You see, no matter how much I played with one of those slats it wouldn't become any more flexible or less likely to break. The key was the water and the time it spent soaking it up and becoming ready to be manipulated by the weaver's hands. It is the water and the Word that make the difference when it comes to seeing change in our lives and congregations. We can push and pull all we want but in the end if we try to do something without the work of God we're going to end up breaking something or someone. There is no doubt that there will come days when we have jerk and shove and press to get the slat around the form but as long as it has been thoroughly saturated with the water it will not break.

Just some thoughts.

Christian

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