Monday, February 10, 2014

Looking Through the Eye of the Needle



I’ve owned my old Kenmore sewing machine since 1970 and it’s had a lot of use. During most of those years, I wet the tip of the sewing thread and shoved it through the tiny needle eye. No sweat. No problem. Until about 10 years ago when my close-up vision began to get bad. One attempt became three, then four, then five, and so on, as the frustration piled up.
 
 

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=35130&picture=singer-sewing-machine


Recently, it’s been even worse, and even with my reading glasses on I’ve been having a lot of trouble seeing that tiny slot. I’d begun to wish my old Kenmore had a handy dandy needle threader like the new plastic cased sewing machine I bought to carry back and forth to quilting. The new machine has a tiny hook that you insert into the sewing machine needle that catches the thread and pulls it through the eye. Push, latch, pull and you’re done. Yet, in spite of how much trouble I was having, I didn’t go out and buy a threader. I just kept trying to shove my sewing thread through that tiny, tiny, needle eye.

 
One day, while rummaging in the sewing machine drawer for a presser foot, I came across a small box. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box up and found a needle threader! I put the minuscule hook through the eye of the machine’s needle, caught the thread on it, and looped it right through the needle. I was ecstatic and slightly embarrassed at the same time.

 

For over forty years this handy dandy tool lay in my sewing machine, and I hadn’t a clue it was there. For the last 10 years I’ve been squinting and fussing and spending way too much time trying to thread my sewing machine needles. If I had only looked in the accessory box, I’d have found what I needed to complete the job quickly and easily. Sixteen attempts for each time I threaded a needle would have been cut down to one.

 

That’s the thing about us humans. The desire to do something our own, without help from others who might know better, comes on us at an early age. Like stubborn toddlers who want to dress themselves, it doesn’t matter how long a task takes, only that we did it ourselves. And, once we’ve got that I-can-do-it-myself attitude, we’re often too stubborn to admit that we can’t do it anymore. We think that we don’t need help, and we don’t go looking for solutions when we should. This willful human quality is one of the reasons Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear, and will increase in learning.”

 

I knew needle threaders existed. I used the built-in one on the new machine with great success. I just wasn’t ready to admit that I needed to use one all the time. Boy, was I wrong! The next time I start having trouble with a task, I’m not going to wait 10 years to correct the problem. I’m looking in the accessory box, reading the instruction manual, and working more wisely, not more obstinately.

 

What about you? Is there a job you need to do more wisely? A lesson you need to hear so you can increase in learning?

10 comments:

  1. Catherine, I love your post. Why is it, some of the most tedious, difficult problems, we cause ourselves? We are funny creatures, very independent sorts, but sometimes we just have to give in, search for help or get down on our knees and ask. A daily chat with our Heavenly Father makes everything better.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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  2. Perhaps it's because God gave us free will and in our humanness we just don't want to bend to Him. But you are right. Daily chats with the Lord help keep us in line with him. Thanks for commenting.

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  3. What a great post, Catherine! I have a Kenmore from the 70's too. I still love it, but oh can I relate to struggling to thread the needle. Your post made me smile. I think the only thing that keeps us trying so hard is we want to quilt! lol Don't despair. You're not the only one who neglects the small box with that "stuff" in it. Hmm...... Maybe I should go look in there again. :)

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    1. The quilting bug is what caused me to buy my second Kenmore. Lugging the old metal machine got to be too heavy to tote around to quilting clubs.

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  4. Funny you should mention it. I thought I'd lost all my sewing machine accessories. We'd moved so much I was certain they were in a box somewhere. After some time of wondering where my special feet and things were, I was going to sew on a sleeve and took off the extra part of the machine and lo and behold I found my little back of sewing machine parts. Let's see how long it takes me to forget they are stored there again. LOL

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    1. I'm the queen of forgetting where I put stuff. Glad you. found your sewing accessories. Happy stitching!

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  5. Thank you for sharing this great post, Catherine! What a wonderful reminder that we often overlook the small things in life and fail to ask for help when needed.

    texaggs2000 at gmail dot com

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    1. Britany, it always helps, in my opinion, to be reminded about the little things. Thanks for stopping by.

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  6. I had a Kenmore back in the 60s...best machine I ever owned. But heavy...lol Great post. I'm one of those I.Can.Do.It.Myself people. Glad I'm not alone.

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    1. I love my Kemores, both of them. There are more of us do-it-yourselvers-than you imagine. Thanks for commenting.

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