Knowing the fabric

Rhona Cathcart June 10, 2024 5 2

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Psalm 139: 5 (NRSVA)

5 

You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.

Discovering that my family were involved in weaving paisley fabric has led me to new little nuggets of knowledge. I have discovered, for example, that paisley, as a design, can be endlessly varied in its repetition, pattern and scale. When translated into mathematics they call this ‘the geometry of the irregular’.

Paisley can be multi-hued or monochrome, simple or intricate. The pattern has ancient roots dating back to Mesopotamia. There are lots of theories about what its characteristic curved tear drop shapes are supposed to represent, but the alternative name for the pattern, ‘buta’ or boteh’ (which means bush or shrub in ancient Persian), suggests they were inspired by nature. These buta are sometimes placed loosely among leaves or flowers or other botanical motifs. Other times they are regular and repeating.

I have had a little fun imagining us all as individual buta, or tear-drops, carefully dropped into the design by God. Hemmed in and around by carefully arranged patterns. God understands what and who we are and where we fit. Even if sometimes we struggle to know ourselves.

Prayer:

God

When we feel hemmed in

By the circumstances we find ourselves in,

By the restrictions of our own self-belief,

By insecurity or fear, doubt or distrust

Help us to see a different kind of hemming,

the careful stitching which keeps us secure,

however irregular the pattern.

Amen