I see beauty unfolding.

I’m still learning.

I’m learning to get out of the way and let the power of God’s words draw people to Himself.

Week by week, I see this truth unfolding.

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Bible and yo-yos

During our recent Wednesday quilting class, I taught the ladies how to cut a fabric circle, stitch around the folded edge, and pull the thread tight to make fabric yo-yos.

While they stitched, pulled thread, and tied off the gathered circles with a knot, I intentionally guided the conversation back to an earlier lesson on the Ten Commandments.

After a quick review, I opened the Bible to Romans 3:22-31 and read these verses aloud in Spanish.

Christ Took Our Punishment

21But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

27Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

29After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

A perfect afternoon

While they listened, the older children traced the cardboard templates and cut out more fabric circles. Some of the ladies worked on piecing blocks, while others stitched yo-yos. My husband, Ben, sat on concrete steps across the courtyard, reading a Bible storybook aloud to the younger children. A mama hen and her four black chicks roamed nearby hunting little insects to eat. Two sleeping dogs lay underneath the table by my feet.

It was a perfect afternoon. There were no distractions. The women worked on their handwork, listening carefully to the Bible passage.

Following the reading, the discussion around the table centered on how each one of us can be made right with God.

We reread the verses about placing our faith in Jesus Christ and discussed how His death on the cross paid for our sins. Following a list of rules does not save us. Doing good works does not save us.

Our salvation comes only through faith In Jesus Christ. We choose to obey God’s laws because we love Him.

Time and Commitment

My heart was full as I watched my students nodding their heads in agreement and several acknowledged with their voices that their faith is in Jesus Christ.

Making a quilt takes time and commitment.

Growing one’s faith, also takes time and commitment.

As I watch these women work with their hands and listen to God’s word with their hearts, I am seeing lives transformed. I see beauty in today and in the days to come.

In the span of time we read and discussed the passage in Romans, one of my students made four fabric yo-yos. She announced to the class, “I'm going to make a yo-yo curtain for my window.” She is one who publicly shared today in class that she has put her faith in Jesus.

I took a photo of her window today and will take another when her curtain is displayed.

I am a teacher. I always look for connections to share the gospel.

For me, starting a yo-yo curtain on this day is significant. It serves  as a reminder of her growing faith.

Little stitches, small circles, sewn together to make beauty. I liken the rhythm of handwork to day-by-day trusting God, reading His word, learning to hear His voice.

A growing faith is beauty.

I see beauty unfolding within a small Mexican village.

A Dios sea la gloria. To God be the glory.