I have a love-hate relationship with amigurumi – crocheted stuffed animals. When I see a picture of a handmade stuffed animal, I get so excited! I simply have to buy the pattern and choose the yarn. The beginning of the project is usually deceptively easy, too. Often, increases are evenly spaced to create gentle, curved fabric that will become the body and the head.
Every amigurumi involves creating a bunch of smaller pieces, too. I often don’t mind crocheting those, either. They can be fiddly and tricky to create; the pieces don’t have evenly spaced increases or decreases. I must carefully follow the pattern to see exactly where my crochet hook needs to go to make every stitch.
Then, before I sew the pieces together into one completed creature, there seems to always be an extended pause. For almost every amigurumi that I have made, the pieces must sit and stare at me for one to three months while I build up the will to complete the project. I hate sewing the pieces together. I always am so nervous about pinning the items in place – is the mouth centered? Are the ears aligned? What if the pieces shift while I sew them down?
Once the process is complete, then I can finally look back and wonder, “What was the fuss all about? Did I really need to be so scared?” Even if some parts are a little off center, it doesn’t matter. It ends up being a charming, handmade item.
This pattern – initial excitement leading to deeper engagement followed by a pause and final relief – is found in the story of the Woman at the Well. It also is a pattern in our life of faith.
Jesus, thirsty from travel, asks this woman for a drink of water. Aware of the social dynamics at play, the woman hesitates. So, Jesus talks about offering her living water. Excited for the possibility, she asks him to give her this water.
This conversation goes a step deeper when Jesus asks her about her husband. Jesus knows that she isn’t married; he actually knows things he shouldn’t. So, the woman sees that he is a prophet. This deeper conversation leads to Jesus confessing that he – I Am – is the living water.
Then, the story pauses. Jesus has a conversation with his disciples while the woman returns to her village. Instead of pausing in fear or uncertainty, she excitedly proclaimed to all who would hear that Jesus knew so much about her. The people go to the well to meet Jesus, and they believe. These townsfolk have met Jesus for themselves, so they need not rely anymore on the woman’s testimony. Even so, they needed her initial witness to meet Jesus.
So also for the life of faith. Whether we first encounter the faith as a child in Sunday School, as an inquiring youth, or as an experienced adult, we often come to faith excited. There are so many fun stories in the Bible to learn! The worship liturgy is so beautiful! The people are so kind!
Then, many of us take the time to go deeper in faith. We study the Bible together in worship and Bible study. We participate in service projects for the community. We may even join council leadership or volunteer as an assisting minister.
But then comes the inevitable pause. Because the next logical step in faith is to invite others to worship. We love how our communal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed our lives for good; we want to share this with others and invite them to faith. But this is scary! So, we pause, and we get stuck.
Some of us never exit that long, scary pause to learn that it actually isn’t that hard to invite others. Your lives are witness to how Jesus has changed you. People who know you may only need a gentle invite to find that a life of faith – a life with Jesus – is worth having.
I’m currently stuck in the middle of making a crocheted highland cow. I have a body, a head, horns, ears, and all the rest already made. I only need to sew it together. While I ponder what I need to do to get unstuck with my crocheting, I have to ask you – What can you do to be more like the woman at the well and invite others to experience Jesus Christ? What will get you unstuck in faith?
