Trusting the Pattern

I have always seen knitted socks as the Mount Everest of knitting.  I attempted socks once, many moons ago, and failed.  I never made another to match it (look below and you'll see why!). So I finally started on making some socks again, this time with a bit more skill and the proper yarn to back me.  Turns out, both of those things help quite a bit.  It turned out great!  Made a few mistakes along the way, but it was tricky... grafting a toe and turning a heel are not an easy task to learn.  So I used a Universal Sock Pattern, which turned out kind of plain, but fits amazing so I don't really care.  Kris was laughing at me a bit for being so excited about it, because I have knit things like sweaters, which are much trickier and take longer.  But the sock is my Everest.  Now I just have to knit the other one!  Here's a photo of my newest victory, and a photo of the OLD sock versus the NEW and improved sock.  Note how the new one actually fits a human foot.  Not sure what species of foot the old one would fit.  

  

A lot of sock patterns, while you're making the heel, will tell you just to trust the pattern.  It's funny, because once the heel is done, it looks just like it should.  But while I was knitting, I was a bit skeptical.  I really think this is a lot like my life.  God just tells me to trust, because he knows what the finished product will look like, and how to get there.  But I can only see the one step, and not the big picture, so it's hard for me to trust without knowing for sure that the finished product will make sense.  I feel like this is a good thing for me to remember next time I feel like I'm not sure what God is doing, and I'm facing an Everest.  (Which is fairly regularly.)  If a sock pattern turns out, how much more will God's plans for our life turn out?  

"A man's steps are directed by the LORD.  How then can anyone understand his own way?"  Proverbs 20:24      

Breaking (well, making) bread together

One of Kris and my dreams is to live on a commune one day.  (Not a weird, cult-ish commune, just a community of people who work and live together.  No Kool-Aid here!)  We really feel like it makes a lot of sense.  Living in community, sharing resources, and investing more time in relationships.  In North America, we are so self-focused with the way we spend our days.  The things we put time and effort into on a day-to-day basis are usually to benefit just ourselves and our own families.  

My usual example of this is of making bread.  When I make bread, it's a solo activity.  I chase Sam around, while desperately trying to finish my bread so I don't neglect my child anymore.  And it benefits my family only.  It's not really a lot of fun.  (Hence the breadmaker.)

Now compare that with life on the commune.  To make a batch of bread, all the women would take a day, and do it together.  The kids would play on the floor together, and the women would visit.  A chore turns into an activity that benefits multiple families, all the while investing time in relationships.  

That's not to say that it wouldn't have it's share of issues, but I think it would be a neat, not to mention rich, way of life.  An interesting concept to think about, anyways.