A Bigger Picture
Life is like a tapestry
by the Revd Guy Donegan-Cross (revised, originally published in 2009)
Suitable for Key Stage 4/5
Aims
To consider that life’s difficulties can help to build us into the people we are.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (A Bigger Picture) and the means to display them.
- Optional: if possible, have a real piece of cross-stitch or tapestry to show the students.
Assembly
- Ask the students whether any of them know the difference between tapestry and cross-stitch.
You may wish to allow a quick discussion in groups. - Explain that both tapestry and cross-stitch involve using a needle and thread to make a picture. Tapestry is created by weaving thread on a loom; cross-stitch uses two threads that cross over each other and is usually sewn in a frame.
Show Slides 1 and 2. - Show Slide 3.
Explain to the students that the picture shows the back of a tapestry. - Show Slide 4.
This picture shows the front of the tapestry. - Show Slide 5.
In tapestry, the back is very messy, but the front looks beautiful. -
Explain that we all have times when we look fine on the outside, but on the inside, things are not going well. Everyone thinks that we are OK and don’t have any problems, but inside, we feel all messy.
Often, it’s only later on in life that we can appreciate how every experience builds towards the story of our lives. - Christians believe that even when they experience tough times that they don’t understand, God is still with them and the tough times are part of his bigger plan.
- Show Slide 6.
This is a picture of Corrie ten Boom, who was born in the Netherlands in 1892. She is famous, along with her family, for hiding Jewish people during the Second World War. When the Nazis discovered what Corrie’s family were doing, she was taken, along with her sister, to the Ravensbrück concentration camp near Berlin. They faced horrendous conditions while they were there, and Corrie’s sister eventually died.
Corrie herself was released 12 days after her sister’s death, apparently due to an administrative error. Despite the unimaginable difficulties that she had faced, Corrie still believed that God cared for her and that he had a plan for her life. - Show Slide 7.
This is a quotation from Corrie ten Boom.
Time for reflection
Encourage the students to think about two points.
First, when we look at other people, we don’t know what is going on inside them. People can put on a front, but deep down, they might be hurting. How should this affect our behaviour?
Pause to allow time for thought.
Second, when life feels tough, it can help us to remember that whatever we are experiencing is part of the bigger picture of our life. Even things that seem hard can help us grow into better people.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Remind the students that when we are going through a difficult time, it helps to talk it through with people. Talk about the services that are available in school.
Encourage the students to take time today to think about others and remind themselves that we often don’t know what is going on in someone else’s life. Encourage the students to develop patience and take the time to think and listen.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you see us and know us.
Please help us to care for other people.
Please help us to be slow to judge and quick to listen.
Thank you that when our lives sometimes seem difficult,
All the strands are working together to make a beautiful tapestry.
Amen.
Song/music
‘Getting on with life’ by Philippa Hanna, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOv5yhxJ1I0 (4.14 minutes long)
