Warp and Woof?

Recently, I came across the following sentence, "to obey in all circumstances and to be pleasing to Him in everything until this attitude has become the WARP AND WOOF as well as the root of one's entire existence."  I gathered from the context that it was something foundational...but later I looked it up!

Warp and Woof:  The essential foundation or base of any structure or organization; from
terms of weaving, in which the warp (the threads that run lengthwise) and
the woof (the threads that run across) make up the fabric.

Now, I have heard people use the good ole tapestry illustration...you know the one...God is the weaver...life is the tapestry...He uses bright colors (good times) and dark colors (trials)...He sees the pattern (big picture, omniscient)...I've even heard the one where we see the backside (which is ugly and confusing) and until we get to heaven we don't see the front (which is organized and beautiful).  Notice...although these are all interesting and inspiring thoughts, they are not connected to any Scripture.  I'm becoming more and more skeptical of such things.

So, I did a little study of weaving in the Bible.  The only loom I could think of was in Judges 16 with Delilah and Samson.  You remember, she weaves his hair in and he wakes up and yanks the pins and the loom up...it doesn't tame his strength.  Yeah, the point of that story is more about where that Strength comes from than about the weaving and loom.

I kept looking...and I came across Isaiah 38:12 ESV, "My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end."  I kind of liked it in the NLT..."My life has been blown away like a shepherd's tent in a storm. It has been cut short, as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. Suddenly, my life was over."

Life is short...we need to make sure our foundation and base is full of obedience to the Weaver...because we will soon be snipped from the loom...complete in His intended purpose for our lives.

Job had the same idea, "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope."  Incidentally, there is no hope outside of Christ.  Col. 1:27 says, "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

As I continued thinking on this...it occurred to me...one of my favorite Psalms 139 speaks of our being woven in our mother's womb.  "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth."  We are currently praying for a little girl who suffered a tremendous 3 story fall...and last night her grandparents shared with us the miraculous wonder, not just of her being alive, but also how God is mending her little broken body.  It is amazing enough how our bodies are constructed...but seeing how it can mend itself after unspeakable trauma is amazing still!  Pray for little Kade...she has a long way to go and she's only 2.

He did weave me physically...but in every other way too.  He knew just what I'd be like.  He makes no mistakes.  His goodness and glory demand my obedience and worship.  Indeed, I want obedience to be the warp and woof of my entire life.

If you can think of other good "weaving" examples from the Bible...please share them with me.  I'd love to hear more.