This week I have been thinking. And knitting. And praying. And in the midst of all this thinking, knitting, and praying, I have a plan that is formulating. Meaning it is in process, not yet fully formed but on the way.
A few years ago I learned to knit and discovered that I enjoy it and am pretty good at it. At first I made some small things, scarves, wash cloths, even a baby afghan, but lately I have moved up to full-size afghans and shawls. And I love watching a piece grow into what it was planned to be. And it is so fun to give people things that have been made especially for them.
In the midst of learning to knit, I ran across something called the Prayer Shawl Ministry. I have the books but haven’t fully read them, just skimmed thus far, and the idea is giving shawls that have been prayed over while being knitted or crocheted to people in need to show them that they are loved and prayed for. It could be for a variety of reasons, cancer, death in the family, infertility, you name it.
As I was praying the other day, I had two special people come to my mind for similar reasons, and as I laid in bed that night I felt compelled to make them each a specific item and pray for their specific issues as I make it. And then when the time came, I could give them the gift, along with some specific prayers that I had prayed for them.
I love this idea, but there is one small problem. Financially, this could become very difficult, so how can I continue to make nice things with good quality materials, just to give away, when our budget this year is extremely tight? And then it occurred to me that perhaps some of the things that I make could be sold, and the money made off of those items could be used to purchase the materials for the gifts.
That seems like it might be a good idea, but the big question for me right now is how to proceed with this. Am I supposed to move forward? Am I supposed to sell some things to make others? How and where can I sell them? And for how much?
All these questions and more are unanswered, but just because I don’t yet know the answer, doesn’t mean I am going to stop pursuing it. I’ll keep asking and listening for the answer. I’ll move ahead as the Lord leads. I know this idea isn’t just a fleeting one as I have been prompted to write this as my next blog post for nearly a week now. So here it is.
What do you think? Good idea? Have any suggestions for me?
I am with you on this, Chrisy, as you already know. I do the same, and at times run into the financial issues, too. God will make a way, when there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot understand! Keep knitting and keep praying.