Bread and Thread by LaurenW

Bread and Thread                     LaurenW

March 22, 2010

Exordium:

    In a child-filled home in Kentucky, a well-used oaken bed resides alongside two other beds. Well-used, yes, but one could hardly tell that this evenly-stained rest-giver is ten or so years older than its more wobbly and dented counterparts. Under the bed are some drawers, drawers that do not fall past that which was meant to hold them up, drawers which do not need to be pushed with squeals of rebellion to their proper place, and drawers which are not ruined when loaded with plenty. The house contains more than twenty drawer-laden pieces of furniture, but only three of them have the same level of quality as this bed. All four have this in common: they were made by my Grampa, Loren Sebring, a master craftsman

    Let us now move to the evergreen trees of Washington, where, at the end of a tree-crowded driveway, there stands a fifty-year old house. Light streams in through its many windows with joy. Beaming through the windows, these rays meet –and jump away from— a gleaming tree-grained floor. This floor was installed—and this house was built—by my Grampa. From this house, we go a little down the road, past a handful of subdivisions filled with mass-produced houses, until we reach a knot of trees covering a driveway’s entrance. Taking this road, we reach a large clearing, surrounding a small house fit into the hillside. This also, simple but strong, is the work of my Grampa. Traveling on from there, we come to a gray-roofed house accompanied by a metal carport. Like the others, this house is not fancy, but it is sturdy, functional, and suited to the life of its resident.

  Forty years ago, one could have walked through the woods from this house to our final destination, but now a road takes us around a large congregation of houses and past a bit of sylvan land, till we reach, by this road and that road, Grammy and Grampa’s house. Behind the house, which sits on a five acre lot, is what many call “Grampa’s forest”. Though small in acreage, the undergrowth of ferns, berry bushes and stinging nettles, makes these grounds ideal for exploring; two generations of children have delighted in finding and dubbing parts of the land. In this forest the morning and evening light shines down “upon the shattered boughs and mossy trunks of the trees”(Scott 4). Eclipsed by most county parks in size, this small tract has certain qualities and bounties which the much-enjoyed parks do not share. In this wood there is a place for the birds, for the trilliums, and for the pillaring cedars. There is even a place in the woods for the skunk cabbage and the badger, the big leaf maple and the blackberries.

  Sharing the same lot of land, the wood and the house have much in common. Although not made by as good a craftsman as the One who first formed the forest, the house is very well-planned and constructed. Let us enter into the red-sided, ranch style house, and discover for ourselves.

 The building is “a little house well-filled”, which, as Benjamin Franklin stated, is one of the great riches. To one’s left are cabinets, beyond them, covered with the usual cabinets and more, is the kitchen. If one was to look to one’s right, their eyes would sweep past the large cabinets covering the water heater and the bird seed, and rest upon the laundry room. There are more cabinets here. In fact, almost every room in the house has the same style of honey-colored cabinet, flush and trim, because when my Grampa built this house, he used his space with care. Crowning them all, my Grammy would say, is the long cabinet from which her ironing board squeaks. Simply put, the space is used well with well-made work.

   It is debatable whether or not machine made furniture and houses made from standard blueprints are able or ever will be able to compete with work such as my Grampa’s in quality. However, not all hand work is of quality similar to my Grampa’s. Generally, though, handcrafted work is more expensive than the work of a machine, because of the greater number of man-hours put into the work. This means that the question of handmade products over machine-made products is not necessarily a case of quality versus quantity. A beginning cook may spend a longer time in the kitchen preparing a certain dish than an experienced chef, but it is more likely that the chef’s finished product will have a greater quality than the beginner’s. As one learns a handcraft, one become more adept at the craft, and produces works of greater quality, prepared with less time expense. When one can buy a fully prepared meal at the grocery store or restaurant, and can obtain clothes at a great many stores, why would one want to expend time to make one’s own? If one wants to have some hand in preparing a meal, with very little time or experience, one may buy a mix from the grocery store. “Just add water”, these packets proudly proclaim. In our world today, food and clothing is readily acquirable. Is it worth one’s while to use their own hands to produce such basic things? Or is it enough that such things can be found at the nearest store?

   Thesis:

  Although no longer necessary in developed countries for the basics of life, it is still worthwhile for one to make clothes and prepare meals with one’s own hands.

Divisio:

  One has a greater sphere of usefulness than otherwise when one is skilled in clothes-making and cooking. Also, a person who can create clothes from yarn or fabric and who can prepare a wholesome meal from basic ingredients does not have to depend on the whim of the current market. Furthermore, when done with one’s own hands, there is a certain beauty in the tangible workings of cloth and thread, of yeast and bread, and of other such interactions involved in the clothing and feeding of mankind.

Confirmatio:

  Even in today’s world of ready-to-wear clothes and ready-to-eat food, one can be more useful to themselves and others when one is skilled in clothes-making and preparing meals. This may be easily demonstrated. In American society it is customary that people exchange money for clothing. If, however, one can skillfully make clothes from fabric, one is able to gain clothing from monetary and non-monetary sources. Although it may be simple enough to buy a delicious meal from an elegant restaurant, one skilled in cooking has the option of producing --with one’s own hands—a greater panoply of dishes (or even meals) with the same amount of money.

  For the Christian there are still other reasons to consider preparing meals and making clothes as a worthwhile way to expand one’s usefulness. In a letter to a pastor in Crete, Paul wrote that Christians “must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives”(Titus3:14). This same apostle tells the Thessalonians to “make it [their] ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind [their] own business, and to work with [their]hands”(1Thessalonians4:11). Echoed elsewhere in Paul’s epistles, there are two reasons given for such an injunction: so that their “daily life may win the respect of outsiders, and so that [they] will not be dependant on anybody”(1Thessalonians 4:12). These two reasons are the pillars of Christian work ethic, and here seem closely tied with work of one’s hands.

  The question, however, readily arises as to whether or not the Industrial Revolution and it’s descendants have replaced working with one’s hands with other ways of meaningful employment. In some ways, probably so--the art of writing beautifully still has value for some things, but has certainly been derailed as an efficient way of book-production. But there are other ways in which it has not, and likely never will. Although the phrase “Just like Mama’s” may bring laughs from the many can-fed and TV-trayed families of today, there are many who can attest that home-made food is indeed the best. There exist in almost any town a plethora of stores from which one may buy clothes and food, but if people can gain clothes and food from basic materials, and not only from money, they become all the more useful.

  In many ways, this usefulness means saving money. This benefit, however, depends on the one who carries out the work. If, for example, one scorches the fillet mignon, no money was saved. On the other hand, with a dozen or so dollars one might buy a few yards of good quality fabric, buttons, and thread. Also, unless they have a very great amount of experience, a pattern will be needed. With some experience and a careful hand, one may produce from these materials a dress shirt worth triple the cost of the mere materials. Likewise, one could make a fine loaf of bread from some of the simplest—and least expensive ingredients. Because of the productivity gained when one fashions a garment or puts together a meal, such things are worth some time.

   Another reason one may find it worthwhile to create clothes from yarn or fabric and to prepare a wholesome meal from basic ingredients is the independence it give from the whims of the current market. On the bag for every store-bought loaf of bread, on the label of every marketed can of soup, and on the side of every box of brand-name cereal, there is a list. This list, often headed by the word “ingredients”, gives the names of all within the wrappings, that which may soon be eaten by some hungry buyer. Often, much of the list is made up of additives, “substances not normally consumed as foods but added to food either intentionally or by accident”(Whitney and Rolfes). Incidental additives are not put on the label. In the US, the additives on the label have been reviewed by the FDA and are allowed because it seems that their benefits (such as spoilage prevention) outweigh the risks involved. Although such additives are not necessarily dangerous, they lose their necessity when one makes one’s own food. Compare the process (from farm to factory, from factory to vehicle, from vehicle to grocery store or restaurant, and from these to one’s plate) involved in bringing a store-bought loaf to the table with that of a homemade loaf. After the loaf has been baked it is often eaten within the day, or at most within a week. Adding preservatives to this would be like giving cod liver oil to a well person: there is no need. Furthermore, as Ellie Whitney and Sharon Rolfes posit in their textbook,

FDA inspectors cannot keep pace with the increasing number of imported foods; they inspect fewer than 2 percent of the almost 3 million shipments of fruits, vegetables, and seafood coming into more than 300 ports in the United States each year.(661)

It has become a common sight in homes and stores to see a label on food claiming, “made in China”. Sometimes a company can certify that this particular food made in China (or any other country) is safe, and sometimes they cannot. With the recent safety scandals of the Chinese government, people can be wary of their products, for who knows what incidental additives could be put into the innocent-looking apple juice? But one can be rather sure of a meal if one has made it carefully oneself (especially if one is sure of the origin of the ingredients). If one uses her hands to make a meal, unhealthy and questionable additives and processes can be avoided—in fact, it would be difficult to find ways of using them.

   Doing work with one’s hands is also a worthwhile way to be independent of the clothing market. In a letter to a friend, Paul said that he wanted “women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety”(1Timothy 3:9). The popular fashion of present-day America is hardly ever modest, for the market seems to be driven by people’s appetite for sin. One may find modest clothes, but all too often one will have to spend hours searching for these elusive garments, using as much time searching for clothes as it might take to make them. When discovered, the garment, though modest, may be very ugly, and of use only to fill the rag bag. Many times a modest and beautiful garment can be found, but it often takes much time and even more money. Although it is not impossible to find such clothes at inexpensive prices, it is difficult. “One of the most obvious and least expensive methods is to learn to sew”(Davis). Finding suitable woven fabric is a cinch in comparison to this, although in most places knits are fewer. Why search fruitlessly for a special cut flower, when one can grow the perennial plant from seedlings at home? There is time and effort involved, but there is also a more lasting effect in making one’s own clothes.  It seems worth the time and effort to make one’s own clothes, especially when one considers the experience that is gained, a greater ability to make clothes. What a worthwhile way to be independent from the whims of the market!

 Furthermore, this independence allows and often inspires creativity. The scissor-snipped pieces may not always fit together just as the pattern says they should, but with a small and careful seam, an added trim or some other contrivance of a seamstress, it may be remedied. A plain crocheting pattern can be made lovely with a deft addition of color. Useful in many ways, the yarn or fabric leftovers from a project may be used for many things, from an everyday quilt to a welcoming pair of baby socks. In cooking, one may add this spice to give one effect, that spice to give another. The independence for creativity is one thing which makes clothes-making and meal-creation worthwhile.

   Last but definitely not least, there is a certain beauty in the tangible interactions involved in the clothing and feeding of mankind that make it worthwhile to take part in them with one’s own hands. Adding yeast to dough, one discovers the process which Jesus speaks of several times, at one time in connection with the growth of the kingdom of heaven, at another time in connection with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. What is there about this small, living fungus that may be wondered at? The answer is well-known, but amazing if one thinks of it: “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough”(Galatians 5:9). When knitting with wool, one might realize that the yarn one is using was once on the back of a hirsute sheep, perhaps in China, perhaps Australia, perhaps even in India. After being sheered from the sheep, this hair was cleaned, carded, and spun into yarn. Now, underneath one’s fingers, it is being made into a purse perhaps, or a pair of socks, the method of its workings determining the final work. Having been woven of thread, fabric and individual threads are melded together to form a garment. Most white woven shirts were once bits of a cotton plant surrounding the seed. Linen, quondam stem of a flax plant, did not come to be part of one’s summer fabric until it had gone through a long process of harvesting, breaking, retting, heckling, and spinning. Then, the flax became linen.

“In [American colonial] days, every farmer and his sons raised wool and flax; his wife and daughters spun them into thread and yarn, knit then into stockings and mittens, or wove them into linen and cloth, and then made them into clothing”.(Earle 165)

Today, these processes are rarely done by one person, but the processes are nevertheless there. Such processes are behind the food brought to one’s table, the chairs in which one sits, and the napkins which one uses.  It is amazing what God, the One who clothes the lilies of the field, would enable the men that he has made to do. Perhaps the beauty of God’s workmanship is most clearly shown to us when we work with the Creator’s work. When one

If this is the case, the handworks of clothes-making and meal-preparing are certainly worthwhile.  

Confutatio:

  But what credence does this essay have, if as the oft-used adage states, “it’s the thought that counts”? If such is the truth, there is little basis for one to suppose that it is worthwhile to make one’s own clothes and meals.  This saying and the mindset that often accompanies it has been absorbed into both the Christian culture and the secular world. Often used to console someone who may have become “like clouds and wind without rain” in the act of gift-giving, this adage is treated as if it is but common sense (Proverbs 25:14). In Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, the same sentiment is eloquently expressed by the irksome Mrs. Gibson: “thought is spiritual, while action is merely material”(Gaskell 307). Although this saying may seem a kindness in its forbearance towards another, the sentiment it conveys is unbiblical and mistaken. In his only preserved letter, James the Just asks the Hebrew Christians what good there is if one tells his brother to “ “go in peace, be warm and well fed” but does nothing about his physical needs”(James 2:15). The thought doesn’t count here! Truly, if we consider how God has shown His love towards us –in the dappled things of this world, in the spotless things in the next, and in sempiternal life through Christ Jesus—we may, indeed must, see the falsity of such a saying. “What would we make of a theologian who said the gift of Christ did not really matter, what mattered was the thought behind it?”(Wilson 32). We are saved –truly saved—through the actual death, actual burial, and actual resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not the thought that counts. We must desist from such a solecism.  

 Another argument which might threaten to negate the thesis of this essay is one

concerning priorities. “There are better things to do”, one may say.  Yes, there are better things to do, but in many of those better things—such as serving God—handwork may be included. Think of Dorcas, “who was always doing good and helping the poor”, remembered after her death for “the robes and other clothing that [she] had made”(Acts 36, 39). Think of Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla, who made tents while they spread the gospel of life. One’s life is full of multiple choices, and for many purposes, making clothing and preparing meals is a good answer. While another reads, the family talks, or one is driven down the road, one may knit or crochet. Sometimes, with a simple pattern, one may watch television at the same time she does handwork. It is not often that one will have to sit down and do only the knitting or the crocheting. There are times, of course, when such multi-tasking is detrimental to one or both of the activities, and is better ceased. But the point is this: the handwork advocated in this essay is worthwhile (that is, worth time); some things are more worthwhile, but then, many things are less.

  Another circumstance that seems to weigh against this essay is the degenerate lives of some who have embraced handwork. Eric Sloane the early Americana enthusiast, John Seymour the “father of self-sufficiency, and John Ruskin a painter and writer of the English Arts and Crafts movement  all lived, in major ways, very strange lives. Eric Sloane was married five times, and Seymour and Ruskin had strange relations with their wives and others. In proclaiming an idyllic life to be obtained through handwork’s beauties, their lives were overgrown with unbiblical ideas.  People may look to these men, see where their philosophies lead them, and, in fleeing from their philosophies, mark handwork as sensual and base. Herein lies an important distinction. It is sinful to worship handwork, and there is a great punishment for those who “worship and serve created things rather than the Creator”(Romans 1:25). To enjoy handwork however, and to be thankful for it as a gift from God is another case entirely. Taking handwork as a secondary gift from God (for it is much better to have one’s sins forgiven than to carve a bench of pine), we may find handwork worthwhile.

Conclusio:

   For many reasons, it is worthwhile to work with one’s hands to create clothes and meals. There is a usefulness gained by these skills which may help oneself and others, often by saving money. Independence from the market is another proof of worthiness, giving one the ability to creatively produce modest clothes and healthy foods. Also, the beauty in our God-given world is wonderful to see from this angle. These are all reasons that it is worthwhile to strive after such skills. For, in fact, the two general skills here advocated are not the only ones to which this essay’s reasoning might apply. Woodworking and gardening are two other activities of handwork to which this reasoning can be applied. But what must one do? Ultimately, every activity should be examined by one important criterion. Not whether it is enjoyable, or productive, or even beautiful, for although those are facets of this criterion, they are not the whole picture. It is not only the activity itself that must be examined—as it was in this essay—but also the way in which the activity is done by the person doing it. Paul told the Corinthians that, in issues of diet, whether they ate or drank, “or whatever” they did, they should “do it all for the glory of God”(1Corinthians 10:31). Writing to the Ephesians, the same Paul also said that they should be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”(Ephesians 5:20).One should examine all parts of one’s life. Does this text message glorify God? Can one thank the Lord for the video game? Is this activity the right way of honoring God now? If we do not give thanks for that which God gives us to do, we are not doing it as we should. Let us, then, occupy ourselves with worthwhile things, doing them with praise in our hearts toward God.

Works Cited

Davis, Tonya. “Dressing Little Girls”. Ladies Against Feminism. Stanley Sherman. Web. 2010.

Earle, Alice. Home Life in the Colonial Days. Williamston Massachusetts: Corner House, 1975.Print.

Gaskell, Elizabeth. Wives and Daughters. New York New York: Penguin Group, 2001. Print.

Scott, Walter. Ivanhoe. New York: Tor, 2000. Print

The New International Version Bible. Michigan: Zondervan, 2001. Print.

Whitney, Ellie, and Sharon Rolfes. Understanding Nutrition. Belmont California: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. Print.

Wilson, Douglas. My Life for Yours. Moscow Idaho: Canon Press, 2004. Print.