The fabric of our lives, woven of our deeds and those events which simply appear to happen to us, has often been compared to the back of a tapestry full of knots and criss-crossed with threads. Only occasionally does the confusion give a hint of the wisdom revealed in the picture on the front, which is revealed only to a higher perspective.
The loom with its warp and weft is the whole of our earth existence in space and time. The weaving is done by angels and human beings working together. But every biography is also a story for itself. Every life is uniquely created by both human and divine actions. Everything we think, feel and actually do contributes.

For us mortals, working on the tapestry of life usually means working on the side with many knots and apparently meaningless twists. Until we cross the threshold it is not possible to see the whole picture. Only then will we know with absolute certainty how much was actually the work of angels and not a mere “accident.” Yet we would like to know now the true meaning of any sacrifice we may be contemplating. Such knowledge could inspire and motivate us to take a step for sacrifice. We are especially willing to make a sacrifice when we can see its meaning.

Then there are those involuntary sacrifices we are forced to make. When, for example, we have lost a job, a relationship or when a loved one has died, nothing can replace the consolation of understanding divine intentions, of knowing why.
There is one situation, however, in which we can know that a sacrifice will have lasting significance. When we sacrifice genuinely, which means selflessly, then we are working on the tapestry from both sides of the threshold. For a truly selfless offering can only be made by our higher self, by that part of ourselves which is divine and therefore originates in the spiritual world. Truly selfless actions done for the benefit of others begin in that part of our “selves” which would act as God himself would act, given our knowledge and abilities. At one with our higher intentions, our deed contributes something to the angels who can immediately weave it into the picture of our individual life and the lives of others. Sacrificing means losing something, even if it is only time, but it is found again later on the other side woven beautifully into the picture of our lives and the lives of others as they are seen by God.

And because it is the divine in us which enables us to make voluntary sacrifices, such offerings can bring us closer to the wisdom of God. Then, from his perspective, we are better able to discern the meaning of the our involuntary losses, the sacrifices imposed upon us.

Life with it sacrifices and losses is not meaningless. Its meaning we can feel as we learn more and more to turn to the divine ground of the world who, with his angels, is always weaving in widths of space and depths of time. All the sacrifices we make for others are offerings brought to him. As he receives them he sends us the wisdom and the strength we need to weave a more beautiful tapestry for ourselves and above all for the world and others.