I absolutely love vintage white lace...The fresh,clean, white cotton, and lacey patterns draw me to it everytime. As, I was ironing this beautiful oval tablecloth, preparing it to sell at Cozy Cottage Blessings, I would notice every once a while, a tiny stain where someone had accidentally dropped something .
Oh well, I thought, I love it anyway.
I overlooked it, of course, because compared to the graceful, elegant fabric, the stains were practically invisible, especially if you chose not to see them. It caused me to think about how Jesus sees me because of the Cross. Sparkling clean and white, free of stains and wrinkles. Beautiful.
It took a long time, a lot of hard work and patience to iron out all of those wrinkles, especially in the lace, and, no matter how many times I went over it, as I moved it along on the ironing board to the next section, the wrinkles would very subtly show themselves, and the tiny stains had not come clean either.
God has been working on me a long time. And sometimes the iron has been so hot...but, He just keeps gently pressing and looking the other way. He's like that, you know. It doesn't matter the size of my stains or the depth of my wrinkles, He just sees me as He sees His Son, through the eyes of grace.
Beautiful.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 2Cor. 4:8-11
