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Full disclosure first - this post is NOT about me. I don't stitch in any form or fashion - sewing, knitting, cross stitching, anything! I can't even "stitch" together a puzzle! But I have a friend who cross stitches and she just finished a Starry Night project. She taught me so much about tenacity through her 95,550 stitches.
According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, tenacity is a noun that means: "the ability or willingness to continue despite obstacles, danger, or difficulty"
My friend, Tracey, started this project two years ago, on May 5, 2022. Now, I don't know about you, but when I think about my hobbies, I'm not thinking of doing something that I'm still working on two years from now! I'm thinking of a quick, get it done, sort of hobby. Ride a roller coaster - check! Do indoor sky diving - check! Work on a cross stitch project for two years - nope! Too much can happen in a long period of time - plenty of obstacles, difficulty and sometimes even danger.
Yet, every time I asked her how this project was going, she would send me a picture and then tell me how she was doing with it. Every text and every picture that had her in it had a common thread - there was joy in it all!
When she began the project, she was excited and thrilled and here's what she shared with me:
I felt excited to start my very first large cross stitch! 95,550 stitches! The bookmark was a bit over 30,000 stitches (for a bookmark!) so if I could do that, I could do 95,550! Starry Night is one of my favorite art pieces ever and I was thrilled to find the pattern for it on a cross stitch website.
Can't you just feel her excitement, her passion, in this project?
1. Here is the first thing I learned about tenacity - Before you begin something, whether it's going to take a day, a year, 10 years or a lifetime, be sure you have an excitement, a passion for it. If you are living a life for God, you can be certain He has given you that passion, so Go for it! Go into it with everything you have! Don't back off because of the enormity it seems to present. What we put out, we will receive back. Read what Luke 6:38 tells us:
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
I then asked her about her feelings in the middle of the project. I mean, it's been over a year and she's still working on this pattern. Again, I think I would have given up! But here's what she said:
Sooo much blue! LOL. Once I got to 50%, I knew I could finish it and started to figure out a plan to get it done in the next year. As long as I worked the plan, I knew I would be successful.
So here we are, a year later, and she's only half way done. There's so much blue! Yet still, she not only had confidence in finishing, she put a plan in place to help get it done within a certain amount of time.
2. Here is lesson two about tenacity - If you are doing something that seems like it will never be done, create a plan to make sure it gets finished, then hold on to that plan very loosely! In fact, it's a good idea to have a plan when you begin any new thing in your life. Maybe that's a game like Tracey used (there's an actual cross stitch game called WIPGO, sort of like Bingo); possibly it's a calendar to keep track of when and how; or maybe it's accountability, letting your friends know you are working on something in your life and you want them to hold you accountable. Whatever your plan may consist of, be sure that God is at the forefront of it. This way, when the plans go awry (and they will), having God in the midst and knowing where you are going, why, and how long it is going to take, will help you finish what you started. It will also help you to "go with the flow" as the plan is fluid! Here's what Proverbs 19:21 reminds us:
"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
Lastly, I asked her about her thoughts when she finished this amazing project. Remember, this was two years after beginning! Was it bitter-sweet? Could she even believe it? Read her words:
Seeing my family’s pride and love for me really helped in knowing they were excited for me. ... Pure elation! I couldn’t believe I did it. It felt like such a long journey. I was very proud of the end result. I thought it looked fabulous and couldn’t believe I stitched that many stitches over time! ... My daughter would be leaving for a trip to see family and be gone for a week in the middle of the month. She’s been a big fan of the project so I wanted to get it done before she left and I did with one day to spare! I was so happy!!
Pure elation - that is priceless! And did you catch that she ended up pushing herself to finish before her daughter left on a trip? It wasn't just that Tracey was doing this on her own - her entire family was rooting for her and encouraging her.
3. So this brings me to my third lesson about tenacity - Don't take on a huge project without support! How important this is. We were never meant to do life alone, and whether we are completing a cross stitch project or accepting a new ministry position or volunteering for a new organization, be sure to have a support team behind you! This team can look different for different people but always let God be at the head of this team. He is your biggest fan! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 tells us:
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
Tracey shared so many other amazing tips and tricks and maybe I will do another blog post about this. But for now, let me say that I have a different view of tenacity than I did before. Even though we may face adversity and obstacles, if we go into it with the right "stitches," we can finish what we set out to accomplish!
Until next time,
Vickie
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