Threads of Many Colors

    Life is a tapestry and every day we weave ours with the threads of our thoughts, feelings and actions.  We can choose the bright colored threads of happiness, forgiveness and gratitude or we can choose the dull colors of sadness, anger and resentment.  Sometimes it seems that we have no choice.  Life spirals out of control and our weaving is chaotic.  The picture we once thought we were designing no longer resembles what we had planned.  During these difficult times we must not lose faith or hope.  Our tapestry may turn out to be more beautiful than we ever imagined. 

    I was weaving my life’s tapestry with the varied colors of happiness and sadness, love and anger, gratitude and resentment.  My days were hectic with parenting seven children, homeschooling and housework.  I was busy but I loved my vocation.  Almost immediately after our eighth baby was born my life’s tapestry could only be woven with dull colors.  I was overcome with sadness and did not realize I was suffering from post-partum depression.  My doctor prescribed medication when I couldn’t stop crying at my six week check-up.  I felt better just knowing that what I was experiencing had a name and I wasn’t losing my mind. 

     Once the medication began to take affect I took control of the loom once again.  I wove a picture of how I had been drowning in sadness, how it had affected my family and how I had been rescued by my doctor, medication and most importantly the prayers of family and friends. 

     What I could not have foreseen at the time was that this was just the beginning of my battle with depression.  For several years the picture on my tapestry would be one of despair, frustration and hopelessness intricately woven together with short periods of stability and peace.  

      I have many stories to tell about weaving my life during these difficult times. Some stories are woven into dark hopeless pictures while others are bright with courage and perseverance. The thread that joins them all is the strong enduring thread of faith. 

     What are the connecting threads  in your life’s tapestry?