Double Knot Windsor

One day, some time ago, I saw my husband struggling to tie his tie before church. I held my hand out in that wifely “give it to me” gesture and he gladly handed it over. I proceeded to tie his tie in the only way I know how: The double knot Windsor. I finished the tie and one of the other brothers said, “You need to do that for a living!” As, I chuckled at the thought, I instantly remembered when my father taught me how to tie the double Windsor when I was only a little girl.

As he stood in the mirror getting ready for church, I saw him quickly tie a tie with an enormous knot. I asked him, “How did you do that?” He stopped and smiled at my somewhat juvenile question. Then he replied that he had learned how to tie a Windsor when he was a young man and now it’s just “second nature.” I asked him could he teach me how to tie it as well. Instantly, he stopped what he was doing, grabbed a tie off of his hanger and handed it to me. He untied his tie and began giving me step by step instructions that an eight year old could understand.

He said, “First, you make the skinny end very short and the fat end long…and I did. Then, you take the fat end and wrap it around the front and under the skinny end then through the middle like you’re going to tie a bow. He showed me the way to do it as he explained the steps. After that, he demonstrated how to wrap the tie around one side. Next, he said, “Bring the same end around the other side and pull it tight. I tried to do that step, but something just wasn’t adding up. He took my hands and showed me how to wrap the fat part of the tie around the other side of the loop. Then he said, now put your first finger in the front of the tie and wrap the same part around your finger through the middle and then stuff it in the front past your finger. I said, Huh?!?

When he saw the confusion on my face, he said, “Let me show you.” I stopped and watched as he did the complicated step. Then he told me to try it with him this time. I watched intently and did each part just as he did. Then he said now hold the skinny part and pull the fat part tight. As I pulled I saw my tie looking almost like his. It was a little less neat and a little chunkier, but it resembled the one he tied so effortlessly. I was so excited!

I practiced tying that tie over and over and over and over…..and over again. Before long, I had mastered the double knot Windsor. When I showed my dad, he smiled and said that’s very good. I was so proud of what I had learned. From time to time, my father would ask me to tie his tie for him. I suppose he wanted to see if I still remembered what he’d taught me. Without fail, I would tackle that Windsor every time. Anytime my brother or cousins needed to wear a tie, I would volunteer to tie it for them.

By now, I could tie the once complicated double knot Windsor just as effortlessly as I had seen my dad tie it many years prior. Each step was engrained in my mind to the point where I didn’t have to think…my hands just moved accordingly. It was “second nature.”

When I think of how my earthly father, with all his flaws, took time and patience to teach me something that I desired to know, it gives me so much assurance in my heavenly Father and all He will do to be sure I know what I need and desire to know. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

In what area do you need more knowledge and wisdom? What do you need God to show you today? He has no problem taking you by the hand and showing you…step by step, with patience and love, those things in which you want to become better. Matthew 7:9-11 (NLT) says, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him?”

I can’t begin to explain the short-comings of my dad…I mean really…I CAN NOT! But even he would never give me a snake for a fish or a stone instead of bread. He gave me at least one good gift. Our heavenly Father will also give to us exceedingly, abundantly, even above what we could ask or think! Good…no GREAT GIFTS! But only if we ask in faith; only if we patiently listen to His instructions; and only if we obediently follow His directions. In the end, not only will we understand how to operate and live as he plans, it will eventually become “second nature” …just like the Double knot Windsor. Thanks Dad.

Peace and love!

NettieBee