A Faith-Filled Life: Knitted Together for the Good Work of Motherhood

Three years ago, when I was pregnant with my son, I dreamed up a gift: I would make him a hand-knitted baby blanket. I obsessed over details—estimating how long the project would take, choosing the perfect shade of blue yarn. And in the middle of my planning, a question popped into my head: “Am I cut out for this?” 

As it turns out, I wasn’t. After several nights of knitting, I had two long rows of stitches, my hands ached, and I wondered what my creation could be if I left it exactly as it was. And so today, what was once intended to be a baby blanket is, instead, a curtain tie.

But that curtain tie, which I viewed as a product of my failure, now ties back the curtains in my son’s room and allows light in. An incomplete gift, reminding me that God is kind to use even our lowliest offerings for good. 

“Am I cut out for this?” As a mother of three, I have become all too familiar with this question. Over the years, the answer has slowly hit me: “You are not cut out for this. You never were. You are being knitted together for this.”

A Faith-Filled Life

In 2 Timothy, Paul writes, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (1:5). Although Lois and Eunice are not mentioned by name again, we continue reading about their influence in Timothy’s life: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15, emphasis mine). We gather that Paul is referring here to Timothy’s mother and grandmother, two women who led lives of sincere faith.

I wonder if Lois and Eunice ever asked, “Am I cut out for this?” When little Timothy sat at their feet listening to their teachings, did they worry, “Am I doing enough?” I imagine all the hope-filled tears and supplications these two women must have offered up during Timothy’s childhood: prayers that he would one day share in their faith. Perhaps they read verses like Proverbs 22:6 (“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it”), and Deuteronomy 6:7 (“You shall teach [these words] to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”). I imagine them offering what they had to give each day—a little lesson here, a prayer of faith there, an ear that truly listened—and choosing to trust that God’s work would be done through them. Now, day-to-day details long forgotten, we know how their story ends: Timothy became a second-generation believer and went on to faithfully serve the early church. How beautifully and fully God answered their prayers! And how beautifully and fully he can answer ours too.

Day by ordinary day, we remember this big-picture truth: a gospel-fueled and faith-filled life is the greatest gift we can give our children and the most praiseworthy thing to be remembered for. Sisters, just like Lois and Eunice, the Lord is knitting us together for motherhood. And we can trust that he is knitting us together skillfully, patiently, and with the whole picture in mind. 

The Lord Is Knitting Us Together Skillfully 

First, we can trust that the Lord is knitting us together skillfully. Unlike me, whose hands and mind grew tired after only a few nights of working on a baby blanket, God does not grow weary. As we endeavor in our daily lives to work heartily[1] but without anxious toil,[2] we can trust that the Lord is knitting together our experiences, offerings, tears, songs, shortcomings, and victories into one wondrous work of art. 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

The Lord Is Knitting Us Together Patiently 

Secondly, we can trust that the Lord is knitting us together patiently. Unlike me, a restless sinner with a propensity to hurry, God is not in a rush. Because of this, we can live a life of sincere faith knowing he is our strength, our rock, our wisdom, and our rhythm-keeper when all we want to do is speed through the song. 

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). 

The Lord Knows the Story of Our Motherhood

Finally, we can live without fear, trusting that the Lord has the whole picture in mind. God, who knitted you together in your mother’s womb, also knitted you together for motherhood and has designed each chapter, page, and word of your story. Yes, sister, our all-knowing God knows the story of your motherhood from start to finish—a story which, by grace, neither begins nor ends with you. For as surely as he knew the name of your great-great-grandmother, he knows the names of your great-great-grandchildren. The Lord knows where each of us is today, where we are going, and how he will complete his work in us.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

What a glorious reason to sing “it is well” with our souls! How kind of God to knit us together like only he can. 

Just the Beginning

So, then, whether our offering on a particular day be small or great—whether it be a holiday-sized feast or a pizza picnic on paper plates—may it be presented prayerfully and in sincere faith that God can and will use it all for good. Like Lois and Eunice, may we work heartily and without anxious toil, letting all the details of our days grow strangely dim as we watch God do his work in us and in our children from generation to generation. 

Sisters, we are not cut out for this. But the Lord in his great faithfulness has knitted us together for motherhood, and, mercy of mercies and grace upon grace, his work is just beginning.

[1] Colossians 3:23

[2] Psalm 127:2