You Hem Me In...

5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Verses 5 and 6 of Psalm 139 bring so much comfort to my soul. I began this meditation on the Psalm looking for a way to remind myself of God’s love toward me… looking for confirmation that even though I feel like a failure, filled with flaws and riddled with inadequacies, He, the God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and of all life… loves…me… - Today, these piece of Scripture paints a beautiful image of this love.

“You hem me in behind and before…” This word picture brings back memories of my childhood. I grew up sitting on the floor by Rosa’s feet. Rosa is a seamstress by training, so she used every minute she had off after completing her work responsibilities around the house, to sew. She made all my clothes until I was a Senior in High School! I still have pieces made by her in my closet today, which I treasure dearly… but, back then, I just sat on the rustic floor of the back porch at my parents’ house, and watched her sew.

She patched holes, sewed buttons, made whole outfits from scratch, but above all, she hemmed. Inevitably, there was always something that she needed to hem every day. I am so not talented when it comes to making things with my hands…really…I am a disgrace at the fine art of craft making and such. With her divine patience, however, Rosa did manage to teach me how to hem. I remember watching intently as she showed me. The needle would expertly go in one side, through the material, under it, to then emerge again attaching both sides securely, but delicately at the same time. It was like magic to my young eyes. The process was long, but it had to be done paying close attention all the way throughout in order for it to be done right. Her eyes had to be on, truly on the whole way…otherwise the hem would be crooked and the stitches would be uneven.

Even today, the memory evokes an image of profound love, patience and peace. Rosa sitting on a worn-out chair by the light of the noonday, her hands on the fabric, expertly and carefully moving the needle softly in, behind and before…

The days of me spending hours sitting by Rosa’s feet while I watched her hem my Mother’s skirts are over now…but the vivid image of love and dedication those memories contain would endure in my heart forever...especially because they point me to this moment when...

I close my eyes and imagine God’s hand hemming me in with his thread of life into the fabric of His Kingdom, behind and before…all the way around, evenly, smoothly, perfectly…laying His hands upon me to sustain me...keeping His eyes on me to protect me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain!