The Right Threads

Daily Gratitude Year 7 - Day 58: Today, I am grateful for the right threads. 

Mama Ina Mae is a thread snob. She has always been very frugal. Yet, when she sewed and loaded her sewing machine with thread, only the best would do. The right threads mattered for the best results, fewer breaks and helped avoid machine jams. Cheap thread was not worth the headache or the time. The right thread made a difference.

"Cool threads" is a phrase from the 70's complimented a fashion choice. We don't use it much anymore. It makes me smile to remember some of the over the top... and at times ridiculous... fashions we survived. Cool threads, although they seemed right at the time, were not always practical or comfortable. 

This image grabbed my eye today:
"When you're hanging on by a thready, make sure it's the hem of His garment."

My friend, Jann Saulsberry, did an amazing bible journaling page based on the scripture where the bleeding woman is healed by her faith at merely the touch of the hem of Jesus' garment. She has allowed me to share it here. Jann's art and the reading of a fictional novel by Ted Dekker (30 AD and 33 AD)  at the same time , made this scripture even more precious. Dekker adds a fictional backstory for the woman that was reflective of the culture. Jann brought her to life with her pencils. There are so many times I wish I knew more of the story behind the scriptures. 

Art by: Jann Saulsberry

This scripture has become one of my favorite moments with Jesus in the New Testament. His response to her faith melt my heart. 

The woman would not be thwarted in her attempts to touch Jesus. She sought him out, fought the crowds and knew in her heart that all she needed was a touch. Grasping for a thread from his garment, it was all she needed to be healed. She knew it in her heart. She reached out seeking only a touch, but Jesus stopped, probably scaring her to death. He singled her out.

Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. Matthew 9:22

Her faith and courage... as a woman in that time and culture...  amaze me. Jesus was headed somewhere else, but he paused to give her his full attention. He felt her faith. He knew power had left him to heal her. Many were touching him as he tried to get through the crowds, but her touch was different. It was her faith that moved him. 

Instead of grasping at straws when life gets crazy, we can reach for the hem of his garment. 

Today, I am grateful for the right threads.