Knitting and Such

One of the jobs my grandmother had when she was a young woman was working in a knitting mill (and any family members that can correct or expound upon this, feel free). She had this tool–kind of a crochet hook with a lid–that allowed her to repair runs and other holes in sweaters and blankets. I love the idea that, unlike fabric, knitted/ crocheted things can be repaired, almost seamlessly, if you have the right tool. Grandma is also a wiz with the crochet hook–the unlidded variety. One of my coziest blankets is an afghan she crocheted for me upon my high school graduation. It is the kind where you crochet together different kinds of yarn to make a nifty pattern where the beauty of the separate yarns work together in a way that wouldn’t work so well out of one yarn only.

Last week I taught Gospel Doctrine: the lesson where Alma, among other things, exhorts his people to become one, to, more specifically, knit their hearts together in unity and love. And while I have never had trouble with the concept, I have wondered at the specifics of the analogy. I always wonder about words, especially in the Book of Mormon where they spent considerable effort telling us how difficult writing them was. I think we were meant to ponder out the meaning of each word, knowing that there were no throw-away entries. And so, hearts knit together. Not just loving, not just “be united”, but knit hearts.

My sister is expecting twins. This will be numbers 4 and 5 for her family and she is worried and overwhelmed and tiny. There is less and less room for these babies in her tiny body. And my baby sister just had her first babies–yes, another set of twins. Both of these sisters live just close enough that I can visit for important occasions like baby blessings and baptisms and the occasional fun weekend, but just far enough away that I can’t whisk in and steal their kids away or do whatever else they need (I think I’ve mentioned this). And so, when I hear that my baby sister’s RS sisters are demanding the opportunity to babysit so she and her husband can go to the temple and otherwise provide the help and support she needs, I am touched and relieved. But what made me finally get the whole knitting analogy was when my still-pregnant-sister wrote in her blog about some troubles in her pregnancy and the current need for her to lay low (how you do that with 3 other kids, a job and a house to manage is, of course, the problem). I commented that if her friends and neighbors would take her kids and help out, that this would answer the prayers of a too-far-away big sister. One of her friends responded: “tell angie we’ve got your back.” And I got it (and, of course, cried). The knitting is because our hearts and temperaments and lives are different and with love and unity of purpose and desire, we can work them together (and it is work, both because of the trials that teach us to love one another and just because the business of life is work) into a lovely pattern that would not be possible if we were all just the same. Sometimes, like an afghan, our hearts can become less united–a run of spiritual sorts, I suppose–but with the right tools (prayer and more working together), we can re-knit what had become separated. I am constantly amazed by the warmth and strength which comes when my heart is united with another. But the older I get and the more spread out my loved ones are, I am most grateful for others who are willing to knit their hearts together with my loved ones and care for them when I am far away.