On Sunday, I went home for a visit. I didn't visit my family much that day, but I did visit my mother's sewing room. For whatever reason, the inside button on all dress pants is always shabbily sewn on. (I'm not kidding. I suspect a conspiracy, but I just can't figure out the culprits.) But the people sewing on the buttons are tricksy--the button will be just fine the first five, seven, or nine times I wear the pants.
All too soon, though, I find myself resorting to trickery myself. Twisting myself into a pretzel to be able to button my pants with little movement of the button. Suppressing the button's urge to pop off as I secure it. Gently threading the button through the button hole.
Well, Sunday I decided--no more! I'm going to re-sew on these faulty buttons that are going to fall off anyway. And they're going to fall off soon. After all, I know how to sew on buttons. (I can thank my grandma for that ability. She taught all of us how to do it when we were little, pretending it was a game to sew buttons onto fabric. She confessed at my brother's wedding that, once we got adept enough, we were doing actual mending my aunt had given her)
The trick to sewing on a secure button is simple: lots of thread and lots of patience. The only way to create a comfy little nest of thread for the button to live in is to pull the thread through over and over until you can hardly stand the thought of pulling any more thread through.
It's a matter of repetition. Of patience. Of repeating the same actions until the button couldn't move even if it tried. As I sat in my mom's sewing room, repeating the motions--up, curve, down, pull, up, curve, down, pull--the notion of 'enduring to end' suddenly made sense to me.
It's not a matter of us straining to make gargantuan efforts. It's a matter of us repeating the right motions--pray, study scriptures, go to the temple, attend church, fast, etc.--over and over again.
And you know what's remarkable? Once you settle into the repetition, it's actually rather soothing.
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It also goes with sewing in general. A little repetition goes a long way..."if you want to destroy my sweater".
"Hey! It's a sweater!" I love the analogy. It's a great way to look at endurance...especially during this time of life.
Hm... I like that. Repeating these small things that eventually lead to bigger things. Very uplifting. ^.^
Needed that just now....
(really)
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