Two Views

The speakers and instructors at this quilt conference have expressed several times that it’s okay to leave unfinished a project that I am unhappy with, and go on to another, using what was learned to do better next time.

Another group of quilters associated with a particular challenging project have a motto, “Finished is better than perfect.” Instead of aiming for ‘well done’ they aim for being done. While the idea is to do a good job, this reminds me of a twist I once heard on a famous adage, “if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly.” In other words, happy or not, finish the thing.

I’m not sure where I fit. What I’m trying to do is find out the heart of God on this. Part of learning to be a spiritual person and learning how to walk with God is making mistakes, confessing to God that I did so, learning from them and moving on. However, another part of being a spiritual person is perseverance. Dropping something because I don’t like it might be just the opposite of what God wants from me.

This morning I read some verses from Romans that say I am not in bondage to rules and laws. In fact, Romans 8:15 says, “Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Abba means “Daddy!”)

My devotional goes off in another direction with this verse, but when I read it I thought, God sets me free from the bondage of law-keeping but also from both of these ‘rules’ about quilting. I am not to be tied in knots by anything—because I answer, not to a set of rules, but to God.

Before I go off into thinking I don’t have to do anything anyone tells me, there are certain principles of art that work. I don’t abandon those just because I’m free from the bondage of rules. This isn’t what God intends with this freedom He gives me. My freedom is from being battered back and forth with the ‘should I or shouldn’t I’ indecision that keeps me from doing anything. Instead, I’m to discuss it with my heavenly Father and He will guide me in the best direction.

Translation. Sometimes I may need to persevere and finish a project. He might be wanting that quality developed in my character, or maybe it will turn out better than I imagine. Or He might want me to abandon a project because I am wasting precious time and He has far better things for me to do.

Being a Christian means that I don’t live according to adages and mottos, but according to the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t as black and white as rules, but it is a wonderful freedom, sort of like that of a child skipping along a path holding Dad’s hand.