It’s sweater weather! The leaves are putting on their annual glorious display of reds, oranges, and golds. The air is crisp with a touch of sharpness as you breathe it in. Summer has faded and winter is peeking around the corner. Time to bust out the scarves, hats, boots, and gloves! By far my most favorite time of year, and with it comes a cherished memory.

Years ago, Dave was stationed on an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Nimitz, which planted us in Bremerton, Washington for a season. Dave spent weeks to months at a time out to sea and it was during one of these stints that my mother flew in for a short stay around the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite an early snowstorm blowing in, losing power for a few days, and a huge tree falling and narrowly missing my living room, we enjoyed the most delightful visit.

You see, each night after the kids were all tucked in their beds (which was no easy feat) we would sit in the living room in front of the fireplace and knit. We didn’t make anything impressive or noteworthy, just little scarves, one for Abby and one for Annabelle. And so with our needles clicking and the fireplace glowing, the scarves grew in length until they were just the right size for two little girls.

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They wore those scarves every time I bundled them up to go out in the snow. In fact, because they had the same color coats, often the only way to tell them apart was by looking at who was wearing the pink scarf vs. the multi-colored one. The scarves no longer fit my now teenage daughters, and yet despite how many times I have weeded through our winter gear, they are simply something I cannot part with. And this got me thinking…

Have you ever thought about the joy God must have experienced as he skillfully “knitted” you together, in the quietness and secret place of your mother’s womb?

“You created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I am fearfully and wonderfully made…All the days ordained for me…before one of them came to be.”

Psalm 139:13-16

I love how the Bible specifically uses the term “knit”. You were HANDMADE by God! You aren’t a dump cake recipe or a dollar store find. You were carefully and patiently crafted together by our Almighty Creator. And when he was finished molding and fashioning you (nine long months later), he stood back, admired his work, and gleamed with pride at how great you turned out! YOU ARE THE HANDIWORK OF GOD and you are LOVED! How great is that?!