My Reformed Denim

 "Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, 

he is a new creation - the old has passed;  

look, what has come is fresh and new!"

There's just something about denim....don't you agree?  It is just so comfortable, casual, and practical, and yet you can dress it up to go almost anywhere.  Faded or dark, with holes or without, in various shades and textures, I love denim!  I've got a denim stash - not just in my closet to wear, but in a storage trunk ready to use.  I collect discarded denim for projects, as just one more way that I recycle.  And did I mention, it's free?

Awhile back, I created a quilt that all started because I had wanted to include some denim squares that were cut from old jeans.  The jeans I had used were ones that my husband and boys had worn.  Having these denim squares in my quilt, represented my family, because of the fact that we do a lot of living in jeans.   

One morning, as I was in the process of assembling the quilt,  a song spoke to my heart about the symbolism of the denim squares.  It's a song that has stuck with me ever since.  The song in my head was a verse from an old hymn.
   

Just As I Am, Without One Plea

Just as I am, without one plea

But that Thy blood was she'd for me

And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

From this song, I have come to think of the denim I use in projects in a broader sense.  The story I see is that each and every one of us is like worn and discarded jeans.  We are imperfect and ready to be tossed out.  We don't deserve a second chance.  Our nature is such that we cannot do good.  We fall short of perfection no matter how hard we try. 

Praise be to God, there is One who redeems and rescues us from the pit of destruction, from the consequences of what we deserve.  When we come to God just as we are, without any plea, but in repentance and faith in the shed blood Jesus for our sins, we find rescue.  We get re-made.  Like denim reformed into a decorative or useful article, we are given new life. 

A couple of projects that I have made with denim, are tote bags.  I enjoy the look of combining the contrasting shades, textures and colors.  I also made a denim purse with a little ruffled skirt I found in a thrift store.   I lined it, sewed the bottom closed, added straps, velcro closure and an interchangeable ribbon.

I plan on making many more new projects with old jeans. The possibilities of what can be made with these discards are endless, just as there is no end to the possibilities of what our Creator can do with you and me.  The Lord our God is the ultimate master designer, and we can trust that He has good and perfect plans for our future.

Let's put our ourselves 

in His creative hands!