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Short Story by Sandra Cundiff, Take Heart Residential Direct Care Coordinator
Each journey begins with a single stitch, and sometimes, the moment is as significant as completing a leaf or a stem. In Take Heart Residential's short-term housing program, we ventured into the world of embroidery.
After each resident chose the design she wanted to work on, everyone paused to look at the picture as a whole. There was much discussion and many questions before anyone placed a single stitch. It became evident that doubt was creeping in, and the conversation began to take on a tone of fear. "I don’t think I can do this." "I’m never going to get this right." "It’s never going to look like the picture." These sentiments overshadowed the excitement of creating something new.
I assured the ladies they didn’t have to complete the entire picture today. This project would take several classes to finish. A calm fell over their faces as I pointed out that each picture comprises many small parts. Even the large flower is made up of many smaller petals. Each resident was then challenged to pick one small part to accomplish in our time together that day.
One resident picked a small flower; another chose a leaf. The next step was to learn the proper stitch for the item they were working on. One of the kits had instructions with just pictures. Another had lengthy paragraphs with no pictures. The third had pictures accompanied by clear sentences of description. This began to be another speed bump that stirred doubt back up. "I don’t understand these instructions." "I’m not smart enough for this." I decided to have each of them rotate the instructions they had a couple of times. As they looked through each instruction sheet, another calm came over the room.
We began to make stitches on the cloth. After one petal of the tiny flower was completed, the resident said, "Look what I accomplished! It’s not perfect, but it’s a petal." She then went on to complete the rest of the petals with awe and wonder at her progress. The resident working on the leaf also finished it in the same manner. As we cleaned up, both residents admitted they had wanted to quit before they started to stitch. However, there was gratitude in breaking it down into smaller steps. "It made the process so much less overwhelming."
The healing process can be daunting when focusing only on the woman we want to become. Overwhelming ourselves with high expectations can make us discouraged and want to quit. But walking through the healing process one step at a time and letting God hold the results makes the journey much more exciting and doable.
Another resident remarked how seeing the different instruction sheets made her realize that there is more than one way to look at the stitches. Yes! And God is walking us through our journeys in a way that brings us healing. They are not always going to look the same, and the paths to the same conclusion are not always going to be identical.
It was a day of not just stitching but also of learning and healing, step by step, stitch by stitch!