The Snarly Skein

Have you ever gotten so focussed on a particular problem, or anxious thought, that your whole world seems to shrink down to the size of it? It’s as if you’re in a small room with no windows—all your thoughts forever coming back around to the thing you’re worried about.

That’s the kind of ruminating thought I was imagining when I wrote Lucilla and the Snarly Skein—a story about a girl who set her mind on a terrible tangle that was too much for her to untie. And the more determined she was to untie it, the more tangled up she became. I know that feeling so well!

If you’re feeling like that today, I want to offer you encouragement and also share a strategy you may find helpful for breaking free of those ruminating, world-shrinking thoughts. This has helped me over and over again and it was the inspiration for my Lucilla book. If you haven’t read the story yet—no worries! I’ll share a brief synopsis so you’ll still be able to follow along easily.

In my story, Lucilla’s mom tells her the big tangle of yarn (The Snarly Skein) is too much for her, but Lucilla sneaks it home in her backpack, determined to untangle it. When she finds herself all tangled up, some friends try to help her break free, but none are successful. The mice try to cut through the tangled mess with their strong teeth, but they’re no match for it, and the river tries to coax the yarn to loosen up, but it doesn’t work either. Lucilla lies there, soaking wet on the bank of the river and she whispers into the night, “Can anyone untangle this horrible knot?”  This place of despair is the turning point in the story because it marks the first time Lucilla wonders.

As long as I believe I have all the answers, can find all the answers, or that I am the answer, or that you are the answer—I will stay bent over the problem. Like a mathmatician working out an endless solution, I live in that downward facing posture; I fail to come to the end of myself and remember that God is the only One who is both inside this messy world and outside of it.

I’ve found that wonder is an effective way to loosen anxiety. It can start tiny like it did with Lucilla. Just a glimmer of wonder. “Can anyone untangle this horrible knot?” More pointedly you can say, “Lord, please help.” Even those three words acknowledge the truth that God is there, that He is bigger than the room you’re feeling trapped in, and that you have access to Him. That acknowledgement creates a window.

From this humble place you can begin to look for the wonder of The Lord. You can name His goodness—every little spark that comes across your window—the beauty of His creation, all the ways He’s been faithful. And as you delight in Him, with your eyes fixed on the wonder of all He is and all He’s doing, you may not even notice the Snarly Skein untying.

“From my distress I called upon the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me in a large place.” ~ Psalm 118:5

I’ve never experienced freedom when my eyes are trained downward.

Blessings to you as you look for the wonder,

~Amy