Our Lady, Undoer of Knots

A very dear friend found this lovely image and shared her with me. I'd never heard of 

Mary referred to as "Our Lady, Undoer of Knots" before and I can't tell you how much 

I *love* both the picture and this name for her! A true gift indeed.

When I look at her tranquil face I feel safe, reassured, and peaceful, deeply grateful for 

the quiet reminder that I don't have to untangle all of the knots in my life all by myself. 

There is always, *always* help.

This morning I am reminded of when I was 9 years old and working on my very first 

sewing project. The moms in our 4-H club had decided that it might be best if they 

taught one another's daughters how to sew. Grinning a bit playfully here as that worked 

out quite well for all of us.

On this particular warm summer morning I was at my "other mother's" home and, 

sewing along at her kitchen table, had made a real mess of it. Sensing my frustration 

and that I was getting close to the point of Never Wanting To Sew Again, my gentle 

guide calmly invited me to move to a clear spot at her kitchen table and gave me a cool 

drink. Then, rather than risk my getting discouraged by making me rip it all out myself, 

she went about patiently removing my stitches. 

I still remember how the sunlight streamed in on her kitchen floor as I waited but even 

more than that, I remember feeling so struck that she would actually do this for me. 

Alls I had to do in that moment was sit, enjoy my glass of sweet iced tea, and watch 

her as we chatted. When finished undoing my knotted mess, she helped me pin the pieces 

of pale yellow cotton fabric with small blue and pink flowers back together and encouraged 

me to try it again. 

To this day, forty-five years later, whenever I have to rip something out, it never feels 

like punishment (well, mostly it doesn't).

Instead, taking my yellow handled seam ripper in hand, I often think of her kindness 

and smile yet another warm thank-you her way.

.            *            .