Kristen Welch
About the Author

Kristen writes at her parenting blog, We Are THAT Family and is author of Rhinestone Jesus: Saying Yes to God When Safe Sparkly Faith is No Longer Enough and founder of The Mercy House. Follow Kristen on twitter as @WeareTHATfamily.

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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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Comments

  1. Oh man, Kristen, this one brought goosebumps and tears. On this side of heaven, we see the fabric’s backside and its tangled mess. On the other side of heaven, we’ll see how He weaves it all together to make a beautiful picture. That is one fine thing to look forward to. Amazing.

    I love how you weave words, Kristen. You create beautiful art my friend. I love you!

  2. I love this story and am so much more touch to realize it is true. Sometimes our tapestry is messy, but He always knows where we are going.

  3. God bless you for being an instrument in His work! Loved this story and so glad to hear a happy ending to what could have been for Tiffany. Praise God that you listened to His voice and prayed for her along with opening your arms and heart!

  4. This made me cry. I worked in a school for a year where I saw a lot of really awful situations and I wanted so desperately to do something to help, to go to the state and scream “Save these kids!!!!!” but then they disappeared and I never knew what happened to them. Your story gives me hope.

  5. Thank you for sharing your story. This is a wonderful reminder that even when we are powerless to help someone, God is more than capable to help them Himself.

  6. What a beautiful example of the way God weaves our lives. Thank-you for sharing.
    I’ve gone through things in my life and I’ve often wondered how God can use some of those painful experiences I went through for His glory. I’ve yet to see it but I guess all in His time. Amazing how God brought you back together so you could see how she’s doing and close that chapter in your life.
    God bless you!

  7. Dear Kristen, what a beautiful word picture to describe so much of what is happening in our lives. For myself it describes perfectly what is happening within my body for I have had fourteen major surgeries, eleven of which have been on my abdomen. The last two abdominal surgeries were specifically to cut adhesions loose around my other organs that were causing great pain and bowel obstructions. The doctor said both times,”It looks like a rats nest in there and I only cut away adhesions in the areas that were causing you immediate problems because every time I cut into your abdomen it causes more adhesions to form.” What a mess!
    Throughout my life, with God at my side, I’ve endeavored to give him the glory for his constant love and comfort throughout my physical challenges and other areas of life’s hurts. My desire is to always reflect God’s care and be an example of the character of Christ. It wasn’t until a few years ago when I had been told many times by doctors, friends and acquaintances, that learned my story and have said, “Just to look at you I would never have known that you had or have any physical challenges. You look so healthy/beautiful”, that I recognized that there are side benefits in acknowledging God’s goodness. No matter what I think I see when I look in the mirror, with Christ’s love shining through me, I can be beautiful to others. I have to be honest and say the compliments can cut both ways. They can lift my spirit and give me the opportunity to praise my heavenly Father or they can cause frustration when I’m experiencing a 10+ pain level and a new doctor, that doesn’t know my full history, doesn’t take my condition serious. Ultimately, I’m thankful for God’s strength to persevere and be a witness for him…a rats nest inside and a shining face on the outside…a complete child of His!

  8. I read this once and it almost seemed so good to be true. So I re-read it. And I realized that’s the kind of God we serve — one who is finding ways to surprise us as we trust him while he’s weaving together all kinds of beautiful details. Thanks for the reminder and for sharing this beautiful story.

  9. And yet again the goodness of our Great and Almighty Creator is revealed through ones story. What a story that was! Thank you for sharing it. The hope it gives for the seasons in life when people come and go, leaving unanswered questions or what ifs.

    Beautiful!

  10. Yeah! He’s eyes are on the sparrow… Your tangle with Tiffany brought me to my own tangled thread! I saw my daughter at a distance. She’s thirty-nine but I still love her as the little girl I saw all messy being taken from me by the nurses at a very cold 2:00 am. I remember the goosebumps I had inside me as they announced I had a pretty haired girl. We named her Marcia, to celebrate my first piano teacher.

    Today we are apart from each other for legal issues and I’m caring for her son. I’m back been mother again of an eight years old.

    Life has twists and turns, tangled and unwoven threads or just beautifully put together by the Master’s hands. That’s all I can express right now without comprehending all pieces of craftworking of the Maker. I’m just thanking Him, even with rolling tears.

  11. Wow amazing i was reading and hoping youll see her again. that how God good is. :).. I love this story. And youre so right. Our mess his Glory. Thank you jesus.

  12. Wow amazing i was reading and hoping youll see her again. that how good God is. :).. love this story. And youre so right. Our mess his Glory. Thank you jesus.

  13. Thank you so very much, Kristen, for speaking truth into my heart, and the hearts of women 🙂 You depicted such a beautiful image for me, and this helps me to have so much hope, faith, trust, and confidence in our Lord. Thank you bunches. 🙂

  14. That’s a lovely story. I don’t know whether you’ve heard the one about the quilt-holes? It was going round in an E-mail awhile back. About how our lives are like quilts, and it might seem sometimes as we look at ours being sewn together that others had it all – friends, families, good jobs etc. Our quilt just seems full of holes, but when we turn it over and hold it up, light shines into all the holes, making our quilt look more beautiful than any of the others.

  15. Oh my…. words cannot express the upwelling in my heart at this story. What an amazing miracle that you got to meet Tiffany later on…. God is *so* good! And yes, our stories are tangled. But God knows all the knots and the way through them. Thank goodness for that!

  16. This touched my heart. It reminds me of when I taught first grade I let some of the fifth and sixth graders come in…to help…but mainly I sensed they wanted someone to be kind, to chat with, and yes, help out a little bit. I wonder what happened to two of my older girls that moved the year I got hurt and also left the classroom. I pray someone else will take the time to see they are of value–not just a couple of poor kids in with the masses. Thank you for your story as it reminds me to pray again for them.

  17. “But I’m reminded He sees each of us and He is weaving a beautiful story with our lives. We don’t always understand the mess, the trials, the mundane, but He is there. Sometimes He is quiet like the gentle love of a friend, other times, He is loud, like the earthquake of an unexpected miracle” – I love this, Kristen. A beautiful story, beautifully rendered. Thanks for sharing.

  18. Your story brought tears to my eyes. It so wonderful to hear a true “happy ending” story in such a challenging situation. Have a blessed day.

  19. What a beautiful God filled story! I love that we can give Him our tangled mess and in His hands it can be made into a masterpiece.

  20. oh girl, your story is be-U-tiful…. i’m wiping tears of gratitude as i write you….thank God for people like you in the lives of those hurting hearts who need someone.

    bless you today,
    xo beth

  21. I love your story about Tiffany. I have many times described my life as is canvas and when I view it it is a mess but God creates a beautiful picture out of our mess. He is truly an Awesome God.

  22. What a beautiful story of the way God works out His purposes to create beauty, when all we see is the tangled mess.

  23. Your story was heart-breaking and beautiful. It reminded me of a poor family whose children passed our house on their walk to school every day. Their clothes and shoes
    reflected poverty. They were very shy and quiet when my mother and I approached them with paper bags of out-grown clothes from me and my siblings, but they smiled and expressed gratitude. My perspective of those less-fortunate was changed forever.

  24. Kristen,
    Thank you for speaking directly to me. At this particular moment in time, my life seems to be in real tangles. Because of a serious error I made, I lost a lot of money and I find myself in real debts now. There are times I sit and wonder if something good can still come out of the mess. But your article reminds me that God can weave something beautiful even out of the messy situation for His glory. This was a powerful reminder at this moment of despondency. Thank you very much indeed.

  25. Kristen,

    It is amazing what God can do. I, too enjoy giving away items to people. I realize how much I have and want to share with others!

    Thank you for being an instrument through which God can work!

  26. I needed to hear this today as sometimes my mess seems to have no logic, purpose or beauty, it just seems difficult and strangling, and reading this I am reminded that no matter what my mess seems like to me, He is the master and makes it beautiful, and in that I will trust and hold onto in dark, hopeless times. Thank you for using your gifting for His glory.

  27. Amazing story. Thank you for sharing. It just confirms that all those people that once God put in my life and I was able to sow seeds in their life. Today they probably are reminded of me and the seeds planted are being watered by someone else. God takes care of them, as well as He cares for me.