Pom Pom Living
Pom poms have been around for a very, very long time. I remember in my younger years having them and tying them onto my sneakers looking ever so cool (at least I thought so)! They were even used as cute little fun furry friends with googly eyes, itsy bitsy antennas, and tiny little feet that you could peel off the protective cover from the bottom and adhere it to a place where your new friend could sit permanently! Pom poms have now come back in such cute and adorable decorative ways that people are using them to decorate with them in everyday living. They are not just for parties anymore!! Everyday is cause for happy celebration by having pom poms hanging around your house! Don't believe me?...just go onto Pinterest and search the keyword "pom pom" and you'll get numerous ideas including how to's on these lovely little fun lovelies that you feel like you are about to explode with happiness!
Well, I was actually scrolling on Pinterest one day when a particular photo of pom poms came across my feed and caught my eye. I had seen several photos before of pom poms and I continued scrolling past them but for some reason this particular photo captivated me. I couldn't tell you exactly what it was but I can tell you that it brought a fond childhood memory to the surface of my heart and mind. So with that I thought I'd extend that wonderful feeling by making some of my own pom poms. If one is good, then I'll make a TON!!
I began making the pom poms and of course I got what I expected. I was giddy. I was reminiscing. I felt good. I also got so much more. For those of you who don't know me well, I am very much a crafter and I find that I have my most deep "a-ha" moments with God when I am doing crafts. He reveals wonderful messages and amazing analogies to me with whatever I may be working on at that particular moment. He weaves Himself into it. It's not just a craft, hobby or fun thing to do. He makes it a story. His story interwoven into mine. He ministers to me with what I am struggling with or perhaps I may be try to ignore or suppress, just things I'd rather not deal with. He enlightens me. He encourages me. He works on me. He challenges me.
I'd like to share with you the wonderful work He did in me as I worked on these pom poms last week:
Life gets us going at a pace that usually have us going, going, going...go...ing, g.o.i.n.g.!! We all go at variable speeds but FASTER is better and the MORE - we have, we do, we accomplish, we achieve - the better! This can bring a sense of tasks being accomplished, goals being made, boxes on our bucket-list, to do list, or even our wish list being checked off. Hopefully, we can do our 'going' with as little distractions as possible. We make it a point to avoid these distractions. We speed up to go around slower vehicles. We take longer strides in our steps to quickly get around those who are walking too slow. We drive thru to get meals or our daily cups of coffee with little to no contact or conversation. We will try to do whatever we can to avoid anything or anyone who just might interfere with our daily living.
These distractions that we see appear to be obstacles to slow us in our tracks. But instead of distractions perhaps we view them as opportunities placed before us to catch our attention and then be able to respond as Christ would have us to. These so-called distractions that come our way could be people like you and me. People who need our attention - eye contact, a smile, a kind gesture, an encouraging word. People who are hurting. People who may not have anyone. People that need to see something different in people than what they've been seeing.
I found that as I would tend to live life in this manner life itself most of the time didn't seem to factor in these moments as I was hustling to make it here to get to there and finish this in order to do that! I found that as I was living this way I became wound tightly and became constricted within myself in my own little world. I was not leaving any room or time for anything or anyone else other than what I slotted for that particular day and boy, oh, boy if something else -good or bad- tried to squeeze itself in!! Living this way I found that I was exhausted and tired.
I, myself, felt unseen, unheard and insignificant. It was at moments like this that I would cry out to my amazing Savior. The One Who is the Perfect Example of Servanthood. The One Who extends Grace abundantly, allowing me to do-overs time and time again! The One Who loves me and cares for me that He is there to grow me, to teach me, to lead me, to guide me...loving me all along the way.
This is where the pom pom analogy came in. The image of the pom pom being formed is simply yarn that has been wound time and time again...over and over...wound over and over and over again until something causes it to come to an end. It is then constricted, squeezed tightly and tied in a knot to hold all the wound loops together which are now crisscrossing over each other. Left alone they don't look all that attractive. Just a bunch of wound up, tied together, loopy yarn.
Insert Christ. He comes to grow, teach, lead and guide, but this requires a little bit of shaping to be done. So, a snip here. A snip there. Snip, snip, snip. All loops appear to be freed and are no longer wound. Oh, wait...there's a few more hidden way down in there...gotta dig a little deeper and snip, snip, SNIP. Now it's done. Ooop. That hurt a little. The shaping is just now happening. A slight trim here. Trim here. Oh, now we've got to trim up this side. This one requires more than a trim, it requires a cut-a-way. Oooooh. This is hard when it's in our life being done! But let me tell you as I held those scissors in my hand and slowly yet intentionally making the snips, trims and cuts and watching the uneven, floppy ball of yarn being transformed into an balanced, contained, beautiful piece of loveliness that was being created from this tangled up mess my heart was so swollen with overflowing Joy. Christ revealed to me that I must trust in Him and the work that He is doing ON me, IN me & THROUGH me because it is always a beautiful work in progress with beautiful rewards and blessings.
John 15:2 amp tells us of the necessity of trimming, "Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit."
I have a choice whether or not I am going to be a willing vessel. Am I willing to allow Jesus Christ to be Lord of my life? Am I willing to be vulnerable and open to others in sharing my life? Am I willing to be the Light in this crazy busy world...to be intentional in being His Hands & Feet right where I am or where He may send me? Am I willing to be attentive to others?
Am I willing?
Jesus called out to a group of men who ultimately became His disciples in Matthew 4:19 amp presenting them with an opportunity for them to make a life choice. It says, "And He said to them, Come after Me [as disciples--letting Me be your Guide], follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!"
This verse is a call for you and me, also.
Am I willing to follow after Him to be fishers of men?
I know my answer--I AM!
Are you willing?
Let me just end with just how much fun and happiness these little pom poms that I made brought me. It's true of most anybody, I believe...String some pom poms together and hang them up on your wall and just see if it makes things brighter. A bit more festive for sure. It may even bring a smile to your face. Their just fun. Simple. Tiny. Did I say FUN?! Much like what we can do in our everyday living. We can do simple, tiny random acts of kindness to make a heart impact on someones life. Who knows there may be smiles and FUN involved!!
Let your light shine bright in each day that is gifted to you. May what you do and say bring the kind of happy to someone that only Jesus Christ can do...even if it's in a simple little pom pom!!
Take care & be blessed,
Christy Krezman
Rosette Ministry
