Love Unraveled—hmmm

Love Unraveled—hmmm. A Stitch in Time

February 29, 2024

by Mary Catherine Watson (aka M.C.V. Watson)

It is said that “a stitch in time saves nine”. It is also said “for every stitch sewn on Sunday, you will take out seven”. Hmmm. If the threads of life create the essence of love, and that love is so powerful, is it possible to take a chance to begin with? Can you let love in with a leap of faith? Or will fear step in the way? Or has the power of love built up so much you simply can’t wait until Monday? And what of Sunday? Hmmm. But there is more to love than romantic love. Let’s start at the beginning—let’s look at children and put ourselves in their shoes. After all, weren’t we all children at one point? And aren’t we all still children of God?

Thinking about love, children have the most unleashed ability to love unconditionally—even if it means loving someone who dishes out cruelty. It is as if they are programmed to love their parents no matter what. And they do, love with full abandonment. But at some point, that very love turns to bitterness, when time after time they are reminded that their voice doesn’t count, that they are only children. Then, for those children, their gift is a lifetime of trying to get over their childhoods. For those able to forgive, they are rewarded by freedom. But for those who are unable to forgive, they are cursed by the perpetual, insidious and continual status as victims. They feel too deeply. Every compliment is looked at as having potential double meaning—trust is completely abandoned. Loneliness becomes their only best friends. “Where is love”.

We’ve come a long way in recognizing child abusers, but truly we have a long way to go. Children born into the harshest of circumstances need our help. Circumstances could be spawned from poverty, unhealthy marriages of the parents, parental substance abuse, cultural differences, or other more outwardly noticeable influences. But children can also be born into wealth, good health and seemingly upstanding socially acceptable circles. You see, love for self over love for another is the true theme or catalyst in this equation that results in abuse. And in nature’s great balance, we also have children born into poor circumstances but to parents who love them more than themselves. You see, who you love matters most. Children can overcome circumstances where true love exists. But children born into families of narcissists with co-dependent lifestyles, do not reap the benefit of knowing firsthand what love really feels like. They grow up to model what they learned; or they do the polar opposite to avoid hurting others the way they were hurt. Sadly, there is no balance.

So where do we go from here. Perhaps the stitch in time is observation. Perhaps it is intervention. Perhaps it is through building a balanced love in a family of God that is bigger than that which was inherited. Perhaps it is in the power of forgiveness. Perhaps it is in the power of prayer. Perhaps it is in loving thy neighbor as thyself. The stitch in time is action, born out of loving something or someone greater than thyself.

Now what about the stitch sewn on Sunday? Hmmm. Does love take a day off, or are we greatly rewarded by loving the Lord, our God—the great almighty, and showing Him our respect on Sunday? Perhaps it matters more than you think. When we love something greater than ourselves, we feel the rewards from giving, serving, helping, caring, tending, pushing beyond the limits we have known for ourselves. We find clarity, direction, and focus. The words we speak come from love. But if we continue to spin in the circle of self-love, we find: instant gratification, buyers remorse, insecurity, limited horizons, lower values, lower morales, and sorry manners. We speak in curses out of hatred.

If we don’t like things about the world, it really comes down to understanding the power of love and in understanding what and whom we love matters most. Change for the better can only stem out of better behavior. The best way to break the cycle of history repeating itself is to learn to love one another. Self examination is important. Who do you love? Hmmm.

It is time to stitch together our hearts and unite the world. Celebrate our differences. Love thy neighbor as thyself, truly. And remember, when you love children, God’s gift to the world, you are creating a better, brighter world. For they will model what they learn. You matter more than you think!

Let’s unravel the past to reveal true love. As we grow in faith, it is then that we will find what we have been longing for most, and it isn’t loneliness anymore.