365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 117: God Who Mends

God Who Mends

"Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1 NRS)

I've mentioned in the past that I'm not a gardener...but that my mom is a master at it.

I'm not a seamstress, either...but my mom is brilliant at that, too. 

I do, however, own a sewing box (a hand-me-down from my mom outfitted by her with the basics), and I can perform small sewing tasks with great mediocrity...which is how I have some point of reference for Ecclesiastes' "a time to mend."

In sewing terms, the elements of a mending job are the pieces of fabric to be sewn together, the thread, the needle, and the hands to do the job.

In our lives, the fabric often looks like ripped relationships, torn promises, and broken hearts.

These pieces are brought back together with threads of unity, forgiveness, and trust.

Needles of humility, repentance, and prayer draw the thread back and forth.

And God uses us as His hands to guide the needle.

I've done enough sewing to know that there's some painful poking involved with mending. Sometimes, it's hard to get the needle into the fabric. Sometimes, it's hard to see to thread the needle in the first place.

But when the mending is done—when what was torn has been repaired—we have new clothes to put on.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1,3 NIV).