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I slaved away at the dress, the needle going in and out, pulling the material behind it. Every now and then, I would glance at the clock, frantically calculating how much time I had left to make the dress before it was to be picked up. There are three lessons I learned in the process of making a formal dress.

When my workmate asked if I could make her a formal dress, I jumped at the opportunity. I love sewing, and it was a new pattern, a new challenge. But I had failed to realize three things. The deadline for the dress was three weeks away, I was in the middle of preparation for exams, and I had a lot of preparation to do for PYC.

The first lesson I learned was this: Know how much you can handle.

I had never tried to make a dress that complex, or in such little time. My mum warned me, “Maree, you’ve never done anything like this, and you’ve got exams and camp to think about. I don’t think you should do it.” I didn’t listen. I was sure I could organize my time well enough. As the weeks drew closer, I found I was staying up later and later into the night. I was coming home, studying for exams and then working on the dress until one or two in the morning. I also had other commitments like sport and music to worry about.

Suddenly time started getting very short. I started to get sick, right before camp. I wasn’t sleeping well, and I wasn’t paying attention in class. My study habits started to slacken, and I was worried all the time. I had too much to do, and I wasn’t coping. If I had thought about my commitments before I had accepted, I would have realized that I’d be stretching the making of the dress to the very last minute.

The second lesson I learned was: Do everything to the best of your ability.

My workmate was happy with the final product, and she wore it to her formal event, but I was not. Maybe my workmate couldn’t tell, but I knew where corners had been cut, where the dress didn’t fall out properly, where the seams weren’t quite in line. I was disappointed in myself.

As teens in God’s Church, we should always be striving for perfection and doing our best in everything we do. We should always put in all of our effort, concentration and ability into our task to makes sure that the quality is something that God would be happy with.

The third lesson and final lesson I learned was to seek help.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it, especially if you have found yourself in a situation where there is too much to do in too little time. I needed help. My mum can sew, two ladies from my congregation can sew, and my grandmothers can sew, but I asked none of them for help. I wanted to do it all myself, even when things started going wrong. But I also neglected to ask for help from the one person who will always give it; God. I didn’t include the dress in my prayers, and I was so frantic about making time for all my commitments that my prayer and study life dwindled throughout those weeks. If I had swallowed my pride and asked for help when I needed it, perhaps I would’ve had scored better in my exams, because I would have had more sleep, and more time to study.

The day finally arrived; 5:30 came, and I delivered the dress to its owner, but just barely. And I had learned some lessons the hard way in the process. Sewing is still a passion of mine, but now I know that if I’m going to start any project, I must make sure I can handle it, make it to the best of my ability and seek help from God and the people around me.

Hopefully these lessons will help you the next time you find yourself in a similar situation.