The Power of the (Cross-stitched) Word

Hooray -- it's finished! At least the cross-stitching is finished on this project that's about 11 by 8 inches. Next is to clean and press it then mat and frame it. But the stitchin's all done. I envision this in a magnificent gold frame and hung in our new church building.

This is the first cross-stitch I've done in Russian.The verse at the bottom is a favorite: The grass withers and the flower fades but the word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8.

It's amazing what a person can get done over time, just a few minutes a day. On this project, my goal most days was to stitch two lengths of thread. That takes about 20 minutes to do. Rarely do I cross-stitch more than 20 minutes in a day, except those occasions when I've got 10 hours of time to fill, like when stuck in an airplane crossing the big pond. I started the project three years ago, worked on it pretty consistently the first year, set it aside for about a year and started back on it in March when I had hours to fill during flights, going back to the US to renew my visa.

I hope that this will be beautiful for decades. I hope that a few decades down the road, the children in our Bible classes now will enjoy reading it to their own little ones. I hope it helps remind us all that life is so temporary and so fragile. But that God's word endures. Which brings to mind another favorite quote, Hold lightly to that which can be taken from you; hold tightly to that which can never be taken from you.