A LOOK BEHIND THE TAPESTRY
Jon & Jodi Rudolph
While I can hardly
sew on a button to
save my life, nor even
hem a pair of pants
— and my husband is
certainly no more ca-
pable — we had both
been living our life
as if we were profes-
sional artisans, skilled
in making things
by the work of our
hands. Although we
had both grown up
in a loving Christian
family that taught us
of God’s love and sacrifice, attended
Christian university and were active
in our church, we were toiling and
threading on our own then asking
God to bless the progress of our
design. Our hands were working to
craft our own story. This weaving
of our “own way” was leading ulti-
mately to death, but we were oblivi-
ous. Jon and I, by living in our own
knowledge, way and preferences,
were telling God we could handle
the intricate and delicate task of
controlling the fabric weave of our
lives. Looking back we see God’s
hand purposely & artfully aligning
the sequence of events to lead us to
back to Him.
As we worked for control, we had
grown dull and gray. Our tapestry
pattern held traces of complacency,
comfort and self-reliance that in
turn manipulated our work, family
and even service in His kingdom.
Our intentions were good as we de-
sired to please God, only we wanted
to please the “me” in us more than
the Lord.
GRACE UNAWARE
Amazing grace was being woven in,
over and through us the entire time
as we continued to spin frantically
— Jodi, in the lives of our four girls,
and Jon at the helm of the company
he helped grow from the ground up
over 20 plus years. God began to cre-
ate in us a discontent in our current
church home and with gentle cords
of kindness and ties of love, led us
back to Calvary.
CALVARY
How thankful we are for this place,
both the literal and the figurative.
It was a gift to be back to the family
of Calvary, it instilled in us a sense
of coming home, of belonging. The
Holy Spirit was stirring our hearts
through many avenues — commu-
nity worship, testimonies of other
believers, and impactful sermons
that seemed written directly to us as
individuals. Friendships deepened
as we fellowshipped in small groups,
Sunday school settings, member-
ship, bible studies, and service.
We experienced the truth of A.W.
Tozer’s statement, “O God, I have
tasted your goodness and it has both
satisfied me and made me thirsty for
more.”
All the while, God began to loosen
and undo the web of knots and
tightened threads that had been
formed over the years. The cords of
twisted fibers included: self righ-
teousness, condemnation, comfort,
indulgence and achievements.
These, over time, were exposed and
confessed. In this humbling process
we discovered a hidden friend…we
met GRACE.
Grace had been there all along-
not just tucked in to our back jean
4