The Craft Project

I got a text from my oldest daughter who is watching her two nieces this weekend.
It was a picture of my four year old granddaughter with a craft in front of her.
It was something she made all by herself.
She wanted Grandma to see it.

Of course, my response was effusive praise.
How beautiful!
I’m so proud of you!
What an artist you are!

The craft she made was something she would not have had the finger dexterity to do last year.
Templates, small peg boards, are purchased along with a bag of colorful Perler beads.
Perler beads are soft plastic beads with a hole in the center.
The beads are placed over a small peg on the template.

Templates can be simple, geometrical shapes.
Templates can also be figures like the one my granddaughter chose.
Her template was a unicorn.
The beads, placed on each little peg, were colorful.

An adult needs to handle the next part of the craft project.
After the template is covered in little beads, a piece of wax paper is placed over it.
Then a hot iron is run over the template in a circular motion to fuse the beads together,
When completed, the wax paper comes off and a solid figure lifts off the template.

My children did so many of these when they were young.
I bought a roll of magnetic tape and put a small piece on the back.
Their colorful shapes and figures became magnets for our refrigerator.
They were so proud to have their creation there for everyone to see.

It is a craft that takes a bit of time.
A child has to be old enough to have the dexterity in their fingers to grab the small beads.
A child has to be old enough to have a steady hand so that other beads are not knocked off.
A child has to be old enough to be patient with the completion of the craft.

The picture that was sent to me said it all.
My granddaughter was so proud of herself.
I was touched that she wanted Grandma to see her creation.
She made it all by herself.

I remember a few times when templates were knocked and beads fell off.
The frustration was palpable.
All that work needed to be done over.
It was nobody’s fault but the damage was done to mar the beauty of their creation.

 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

God created the heavens and the earth, day and night, sky, sea, and land.
God created vegetation, the sun and moon, fishes and birds, and livestock.
Then on the sixth day, God created man in His image.
Everything God made was declared, Good; after man was created, God said, Very Good.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:1-7)

Sin came into the world.
God’s Word was questioned: Did God really say?
Creation was marred because of sin.
But God had declared creation, Good, and His image bearers, Very Good.

The man and the woman covered themselves with fig leaves of their own making.
It was not a sufficient covering.
Perfect blood needed to be shed so that they (and we) could have our sins covered.
God knew even then, that He would send His Son, Jesus, to redeem us with His blood.

Frustration happens when something beautiful has been marred.
For a while, the original beauty is not recognized.
But the beauty can be redeemed.
It has been, and will be, redeemed by our Lord Jesus.

We live in the now and not yet.

We must come to the Lord Jesus in faith, trusting in Him alone for our salvation.
The Perler beads are fused by the heat of the iron.
We are fused in Him when we come to Him in faith.
God the Father declared us, Very Good.

 

2 responses to “The Craft Project”

1. This brought back sweet memories♥️

   Reply

   • You and me, both, Sherie.
     It has come full circle.
     Gina

     Reply