7/365- One Stitch at A Time

I spent the evening at the house of a sewing machine repairman. This particular repairman was a special one. In business for thirty plus years, this sweet man proudly, and humbly shared his success story. I just met Mr. Doyle yesterday, and already think the world of him. I believe you can tell a lot about a person from their workspace.

Today in a spare moment I milled around in Doyle's shop.
I saw shelves full of sewing machines from throughout the years. My guess would be they aren't current client's machines, but rather machines he has accumulated over the years. In hopes of someday getting to them to restore them to their ultimate purpose. I like this about Doyle. He sees hope when others give up.

I also noticed his carefully organized workspace. Several pairs of scissors rested neatly in a container on his desk. Lamps dimmly lit the area and several bobins and spools of thread lined the walls. I think I saw every imaginable color of thread in Doyle's shop.

....Then I saw it. A dry erase board above his desk said these words.

"Call hospital about cutting off Nita's ring"

My heart broke.

Here's something about this sweet man I met yesterday. Doyle became a widow this week. He and his wife were married 20 + years. He was married to Stephen's Aunt Anita. Over the past few days I've heard NOTHING but wonderful things about this man. Over the years he cared for his wife as she suffered from MS. I heard stories of him caring for his beloved wife through the years and his daily evening visits just to be with her at the care facility. Like his shelved sewing machines, Doyle had hope that his dying wife would one day be healed. As we said goodbye today to Aunt Nita I saw the peace in his eyes and his smile.

Tonight Nita is healed, and because of the hope we have in Jesus through a relationship with him, she is walking with Christ as I speak. Although his heart is broken, it can be mended again- one stitch at a time.

-MK