An Embroidered Life

"When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. From the underside, as I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat. She would smile at me, look down and gently say, “My son you go about playing for a while and, when I am finished, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side.”

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes would pass and then I would hear mother’s voice say, “Son come and sit on my knee.” This I would do, only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then mother would say to me, “My son, from underneath it did look messy ad jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-dawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing.”

Many times through the years I have looked up to Hashem and said, “Father, what are You doing?” He answers, “I am embroidering your life.” I say, “But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can’t they all be bright?”

Hashem then tells me, “My child, you continue to live your life of fulfilling My mitzvot, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on My knee and you will see the beautiful picture of your life from My side.”"