Crochet teaches us many little lessons and allows us to create beauty and function from simple steps and supplies. One of the lessons I’ve realized that crochet teaches us is delayed gratification. Our world today is often obsessed with immediate returns and right away responses. Delayed gratification is a necessary lesson and principle to master though, and crochet can be one way we practice this skill.
What is delayed gratification? Delayed gratification is simply where someone puts in the time and effort to make something happen or to accomplish a goal and they do not see the results right away. How long it takes for the results to show up may vary, but often it can take a long time to receive the benefits of the time and effort put in.
Delayed gratification is an exercise in patience for us, and it increases the anticipation that we have as we wait for what we hope for. Crocheters, knitters, and many other crafty people definitely know this and practice this skill often. From blankets to garments and so many more projects, crochet and knitting take much more time, effort, and patience than people think. Of course, we have some projects that work up much more quickly than others, and we get to enjoy those sooner. However, for me personally, those projects that take me longer to complete hold a special place in my heart because of the satisfaction and joy I receive by remembering the work that was put into them.
As a Christian, I see the importance God places on delayed gratification because it does a work in us. It builds patience, joy, hope, endurance, and persistence simply by making us wait and chip away a little at a time at a project or goal. Christ does this in us every day as we walk with him (Phil. 1:6), and he can use something as simple as crochet to do so.
As someone who wants to walk in the ways of Jesus, I love seeing how he uses the little things in my life to come closer to him. I enjoy the little glimpses I get throughout my day of his love and working. “Every good and perfect gift is from above,” and I believe the joy of crochet and the lessons I learn with it are included in this (James 1:17).
So as you enjoy fall with the changing colors and the rest of the season, I’ll be here with my cup of tea crocheting away, and thinking on the goodness of God to teach me such a lesson in such a way.
Stay creative, friends!
-Chelsey
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