Christianity and Yarn Barf: A Yarnie's View

Relief intern Jazz Eisinger plays at spinning her own parables. Okay, so this title might be a stretch, or at least unnecessarily unpleasant. Never fear – whatever images of fiber-induced vomit you may be entertaining will be much worse than what I'm actually talking about.

Yarn barf, in essence, is the coiled and knotted ball of nastiness that comes out of the middle of the yarn ball. A yarnie (or crafter, if you prefer) will pull out the center to find the end of the ball for a project or to wind the yarn into a more manageable size. However, though the strand was wound into the ball of yarn once, it doesn't come out as easily all the time. There are often knots, tangles, and even the occasional Gordian knot that befuddles one into believing that the continuous string is out to thwart itself.

What to do? There are three main approaches: patience, skill, and force.

Patience involves simply using the yarn, pulling the strand through the mess until it resolves itself. This is by far the slowest but often the preferred method.

Skill requires a good set of eyes and nimble fingers to untangle the knot. This also takes patience, but also a willingness to loosen the yarn from itself and solve the problem one part at a time.

Finally, brute force is sometimes the only answer. A pair of scissors will alleviate the problem quickly, but also causes a break in the line, which will show up in the final product.

So how does this relate to Christianity?

Simple. As Christians, and even as the Church, we often disagree within ourselves or with God. One person fights with another, and soon others are brought into the fray. Someone fights against God's will, thinking that their own direction looks better – and only succeeds in creating a bigger mess.

And yet, grace prevails. God is creating a product far greater than the knots or tangles, and he's been forming the pattern since well before you were born and he'll continue long after you're gone. Despite our best efforts to thwart him, he is faithful to untangle our messes and create something beautiful.

Question for Thought:

Does thinking in terms of a creative God inspire or change your perception of him?

Jazz Eisinger is an editorial intern with Relief. She will graduate from Trinity International University this spring with a degree in English.