Can you row?” the Sheep asked, handing her a pair of knitting-needles as she spoke. “Yes, a little—but not on land—and not with needles—” Alice was beginning to say.
Lewis Carroll
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
I Peter 5:7
Do you Row?
When most people read 1 Peter 5:7, I imagine they think of fishing, especially since Jesus spent a lot of time with fishermen. He even used it as a metaphor. However, when you cast in fishing, you have every intention of reeling the line in, hopefully with a fish on the other end. What Peter is talking about here is more like knitting.
Unlike Alice, I am not good in a boat, especially a small boat. I prefer something a little larger for traveling, like a ferry. I’m more like the sheep and prefer to “row” with needles. When you start a project, it is referred to as casting on, a variety of methods of getting loops of yarn on a needle. When you finish a project, you bind off or cast off which closes off the loops so that they won’t unravel as they are removed from the needle.
Cast On
There are a variety of methods for casting on stitches. It depends on the project which is the most appropriate choice. The best one for knitting toe-up socks is Judy’s Magic Cast On, but the standard for many projects is the Long Tail Cast On. The idea is to make the right number of loops on your needle in proportion to your project. You have to choose the right size needle to go with the right size yarn so that you end up with the right size project. You don’t want to start making a sweater for yourself that ends up only fitting the dog, who is a Dachshund, or only fits the Abominable Snowman.
Our spiritual lives can work the same way. We cast on the wrong things. We cast on thoughts of all the things that could possibly go wrong. Like a bulky yarn, it grows bigger and harder to handle by the moment. Instead we should have cast on faith, trusting that all the little inconsistencies in tension will work themselves out into neat and even rows. The choice is ours.
Cast Off
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
What you sow, you reap. What you cast on, you cast off. Casting off, or binding off, is one of the final stages of knitting. You pull the loops through loops in such as way as to close them off and make a finished edge. When it’s done right, the work won’t unravel.
When we cast off our cares, we are binding them off our needles and finishing them so that we don’t unravel. To cast off is the art of finishing, so to cast off cares is to end them so that the project can come off the needles and be useful. If we allow cares and worries to linger on our needles, in our spirit, we keep our spirit tied up in a useless knot. But, if we cast off the cares, we free our spirits to move forward whole and secure instead of unraveling a thread at a time.
Best Practices
Every trade and art has some best practices that make it…well…better. In knitting we do swatches to verify if a certain size needle and yarn get the right gauge for a project so that we know if it will work out into the right size. Otherwise we might end up with ill-fitting sweaters. A spiritual best practice is prayer. When we practice prayer, we cast off worry. Like ill-fitting clothes, we cast them into the donation box and walk away. We don’t go back and retrieve them. We put on clothes that fit us, like joy and peace, and move forward.
Let’s do a spiritual inventory and throw out worry and fear. Put it in the cast off box and walk away. Life’s too short to wear ill-fitting clothes when brand new, tailor-made outfits are ours for the asking.
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