The Lenten journey is winding its way down to Holy Week. This liturgical church season is a time to refocus, renew, and reenergize our connection with Christ Jesus as we recognize our human limitations and the need for God’s divine presence in our lives.
Limitations can be based in self-centeredness and the like in actions and words which pull us away from God as we make ourselves our highest/only concern. However, limitations can also be areas of personal growth we already attempt to address and want to keep working on, like how one engages with conflicts and their resolution.
If you work with yarn you most likely know what I mean when I use the term “yarn barf.” For those not familiar with it, it typically refers to the tangled mess pulled out of the center of a skein when looking for the end of the yarn. It can also refer to any mass of tangled yarn.
I am in the process of trying to organize my yarn stash and take inventory of it. I have a couple of projects that require multiple colors (one calls for multiple hues of the whole rainbow!) and I want to make sure I have adequate supplies on hand. In order to properly prepare these projects, I am sorting a fairly large sized basket of tangled yarn. I have already spent several days separating out some of it. I even had my spouse help me one day. Then my toddler wanted to help and made the remaining pile of yarn one tight knot. At least she had fun.
As I again work on taking apart the yarn mess today, my brain started processing how this work is similar to addressing conflicts. As an Enneagram 9 and an INFJ, my personality is completely about avoiding conflicts. This is a “growing edge” for me which I am trying to address in healthy ways, like with yarn.
How is a tangled mass of yarn comparable with addressing conflict? Good question! So glad you asked. Or, at least in my head it made since someone might ask.
Step One: You have to stop running from/igoring it. Shutting the door to the craft room does make the tangled mess disappear. Acknowledging there is a task is the first step. You recognize this yarn/issue is not going to untangle itself or simply disappear. You make the conscious decision to actually sit down with it and begin actively working through the tangles and misunderstandings.
Step Two: As you address the tangles, the issue(s), you might find you need to retrace your steps, sometimes multiple times, before you even get to the heart of the knot, the real pain and hurt.
Step Three: Patience is a must. Depending on the size of the yarn knot or the issue at hand will determine how much time is needed to undo a tangle, undo an action (or inaction). Some tangles can be loosened quickly while others take time and careful handling.
Step Four: Coinciding with patience, yarn knots and conflicts require perseverance. Continually working through one’s own tangled yarn can lead to clear expectations, set boundaries, and knowledge of the resources within one’s personal stash.
Now to take my own advice and get back to untangling my yarn. May the last days of this Lenten journey be meaningful for you and enable you to embrace the full joy of the Easter mystery with new hope, new life, and new perseverance.
Martha's Mark 