Daily Devotional for October 22, 2018
Knit Together
“Mom! Look at my scarf now!” With a ball of yarn dragging behind her, Ana ran into the kitchen, clutching her knitting needles and the scarf she was learning to knit. “Look how long it’s getting! I think it’s almost finished. Isn’t it perfect?” She spread out the length of the scarf on the table. “Oh, wait—there’s a hole here, right in the middle!” she wailed. “How did that happen? It’s ruined!”
Mom came over and picked up the scarf. “It looks like you dropped a stitch in the middle of this row. When that happens, it makes a big hole. But don’t worry—we can fix it.”
Ana sniffed. “We can?”
“Sure,” said Mom. “I’ll show you as soon as I get my meatloaf in the oven.”
Soon the meatloaf was baking, and Mom showed Ana how to pick up the dropped stitch and fix the hole it had made.
“Wow! Thanks, Mom!” Ana said. “I thought I’d have to throw this out and start a whole new scarf!”
“You know, I think you could learn something from this scarf,” Mom said. “You’re still mad at Mei for not inviting you to her party last weekend, aren’t you?”
“Well, she’s not much of a friend if she would leave me out like that!”
“But didn’t Mei take you along on her family’s camping trip last summer?” asked Mom. “And remember when you sprained your ankle and she came and played games with you? She helped you catch up on your homework too.”
“Yes, but…” Ana wasn’t sure what Mom was getting at.
“So,” Mom continued, “it seems to me Mei’s been a pretty good friend to you in the past. In the Bible, the apostle Paul speaks of friends’ hearts being knit together in love. I don’t think you should toss out your whole friendship with Mei just because she dropped a stitch in the middle. A hole in a friendship can be fixed too, and the Bible tells us how to do that. It says we need to forgive others the way Jesus has forgiven us.”
Ana was quiet for a minute. “You’re right. Mei has been a good friend,” she said finally. “How about I invite her over for a meatloaf dinner tonight?” – Deborah S. Marett
How about you?
Have you ever been really angry with a friend? Maybe they said something mean to you or made you feel left out. Even though they hurt you, that doesn’t mean you should end your friendship. Listen to God’s reminder to love, forgive, and encourage one another. If there’s a hole in one of your friendships, don’t throw the whole thing out. Instead, mend it by showing that friend Jesus’ love and forgiveness.
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