Learning Something New

     They say you are never too old to learn.  It's true, and, learning new things can bring some wondrous adventures and joy to your life if you are just willing to try.  I decided over the holidays that I want to learn to crochet.  I have always envied those who could take a piece of string and make something beautiful and useful from it.  My sister makes very nice things and made a beautiful throw for my daughter.  I want to make pretty things too.   

     SO, I took myself to Wal-Mart  and bought the basic supplies.  A crochet hook, some pretty, multi-colored yarn, and an instruction book.  I went home, got the book out, browsed through it hurriedly and started to work.  It wasn't totally unfamiliar.  As a teen I was introduced to the craft and was pretty good at making a chain.  Sadly, that's all I ever learned to make.  I was ready now.  Ready to make something useful and real.  A dishcloth.  The instructions were in the new book I bought.  How hard could it be?

     Make 41 chain stitches.  Done.  Then my book told me to "Hdc in third ch from hook (2 skipped chs count as first hdc) and in each ch across: 40 hdc."  WHAT IN THE WORLD???  Ok, there is a picture in the front of the book showing me what an hdc is.  Easy enough.  I quickly figured it out and managed to get one row completed.  Time to turn.  So I did.  Several rows later I realized I had missed something.  My dishcloth didn't look square and regular.  It was very uneven and misshapen.  Back to the book.  OH!  You have to add some chains before you turn. 

      SO, I unraveled the whole thing and started again.  This time, I wanted to experiment with some different stitches - just to practice.  It was fun to learn them and to see myself getting better at handling the thread and needle.  After a day or so I unraveled it again to start over on my dishcloth.  This time I had something that looked more like a dishcloth than before.  I tried (key word, tried) to finish it by putting on the edging...without fully reading the instructions.  One side of it was ruffled and pretty.  One side was probably closer to right.  I didn't even attempt the third side.  I unraveled it and rolled a beautiful ball of colored yarn. 
     This time my sister came to give me some pointers.  Her advice?  "Read the instructions."  UGH!  That takes too much time!  I want to do this, not sit around reading about it! She showed me an easier way to make my starting knot and sat with the book helping me read those pesky instructions.  Let me say this, in case you don't know, crochet instructions are printed in the language of Crochet, not English.  I have had to learn a new vocabulary AND the shorthand that goes with it.  The instructions are a bunch of letters and stars and symbols combined in a paragraph that is supposed to mean something.  She explained it and it made a lot more sense. 
     I started again.  By now my yarn is becoming worn, so this is it.  I can't start over again.  My stitches have gotten more even, and, since I have been following the pattern instructions, my dishcloth is looking pretty good!  It's square and regular in shape.  It's not perfect, but it's pretty good for my first attempt.  I think it will wash plenty of dishes without falling apart! 
     Last night I looked at the book a little more.  Since the title is, Learn to Crochet, one should think it would be useful.  It is, IF you stop to read it!  The first page starts with explaining the "anatomy of a crochet hook."  Turns out it matters where you put your fingers, where you wrap the yarn, how many loops you make and how you pull it through.  It matters that there is a "right side," though I have yet to figure out how you can tell the difference.  The next several pages of the book give diagrams and instructions on how to make the stitches.  I had already skimmed those.  Then I found this page:  UNDERSTANDING INSTRUCTIONS.  Oh.  Hmm.  Well. 
     Read the instructions.  Read the book.  I can't help but think about how we live that out as women trying to follow Christ.  We want to jump in and get things accomplished.  Help the poor.  Feed the hungry.  Go on a mission trip.  Sing in the choir.  Teach a class.  Lead a group.  Organize the nursery.  And we don't stop to read The Book.  God's instruction book for our lives.  The Bible.  Have you read yours today?  Do you read it regularly?  How different does your life (dishcloth) look when you have read the instructions and live accordingly?  We can choose to do life on our own, floundering and struggling to figure out what to do next, frustrated because life is turning out the way we thought it would.    However, taking some time every day to sit down with the Lord and read His Word shines a light on what we are trying to do.  We begin to understand why what we are trying isn't working out just right.  It's also important to have someone to share with you, someone to mentor you and answer questions for you.  Someone to encourage you to keep going.  Someone who has been "there" and can offer advice, even it is, "Read."
     I encourage you today to get out and learn something new.  Plan some adventures for this year.  But, don't just jump in with both feet, take some time to read the instructions!