Don't be a QUITTER Knitter

Quitting is an every present temptation in optional activities when times get tough. The notion seems to linger just on the fringes of our consciousness, and the moment our current occupation gets just a little bit difficult, the devil pops up and pulls it into play.

“You could always just quit," he says. "Nobody said you had to do this.” And once presented, the thought persists, and we mull it over for a time before deciding what to do with it. The process is like sorting through mail that comes in to our mailbox, each envelope a thought to be kept or discarded. Part of the reason I have a clutter problem in my home is that I hold on to too many things for future consideration. While quitting something can sometimes be a positive action leading to beneficial results, more often than not the thought arises in periods of exhaustion or stress, when the effort to push through a temporary difficulty seems more than we can muster at that moment in time.

Just days ago I almost quit this year's Blogger Challenge. For some reason April is always an incredibly busy month for me and adding a project that requires non-existent extra time doesn't seem like a problem until I lose momentum midstream and am floundering in my over-extensions. I fell a couple of days behind in my posts and thought about giving up the ghost. But I thought back to the reasons I took it on this year in the first place; they were still valid, which meant I just had to push on through. And eventually I caught up and it all became great fun again.

I've had knitting projects that I've been tempted to quit on, as well. It's easy to do that when the work in hand does not match the picture of it you hold in your head. For some reason it looked better in thought than in actuality and you wonder if you should devote any more of your time and money on what seems like wasted effort. I was knitting a pillow cover recently that I was initially incredibly excited about, but as the work progressed the colors weren't coming together the way I was expecting, and I began to like it less and less. I thought about abandoning it completely, but wisely sent a picture of it to my sister via text, hanging it out there like a fleece, and letting her reaction to it be the deciding factor.

For two days I heard nothing, and thought maybe that was an answer in itself. But then she sent me a response that caused me to look at it in a different way, and that change in perspective saved the day. I pushed on, got some fresh ideas and renewed motivation, and was happy with the result in the end.

The Bible says a wise person seeks counsel before making decisions. What better Counselor do we have concerning our life situations than the God who created us and knows the plans He has for the length of our days? And if He has approved an action at the outset, why would we doubt the continuance of His support when the going gets a little tough? Unlike us, He doesn't change His mind midstream. Instead He sends us the encouragement and strength needed to carry on and continue. He simply never gives up; neither should we.

“Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'”

(Luke 9:62 NKJV)