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Quilting, Stitching and Connecting - September 21, 2006
The sun seemed to race uncontested as it headed to its high point in the morning sky. The tall evergreens and dense forestry in our neighborhood that served to invade the path of the sun quickly, very quickly, trailed far behind as the sun headed high in the sky for yet another scorching, humid day. The gentle glow of the sun's rays peered through the window blinds and seemed to wrap itself around me as I focused on the crisp, yet gentle green cotton fabric of the quilt... so soothing... so tranquil.
"Oh, I do hope she'll enjoy this quilt/bedspread that I'm making", I thought to myself. My eyes and body were still reeling from the rendezvous with errors and the corrections that concluded until earlier this morning at 1:30 AM. I sighed amidst the aches and kinks in my back that still spoke to me as I held that same relentless position while drawing more lines on the quilt. I knew this would not win any prizes at a fair. My tools for making this quilt were less than adequate- a broken ruler, a lead pencil, a bed that was smaller than the spread; a heavy table leaf served as a yard stick for those long lines and squares I was etching. My sewing machine was really not up to the task of stitching the project. Breaking six sewing needles and having the constant tension problems were evidence of my sewing machine's inadequacy. I'd worked so tirelessly on this so she'd have a beautiful, soft, and pretty blanket that she could call her own for her room.
Yet as I continued to straighten, draw and pin each pencil line row in place so the quilt batting and the squares would be just right for stitching, I couldn't help but feel someone could so easily look at this project of mine and find all those little flaws even though I'd worked so hard on it to make it just right. Not every stitch was an even one. Lines weren't perfect, but close. Although the little puckers were barely evident, nonetheless, there were still some of those.
As I was drawing the lines for stitching the squares that morning, I noticed that the pencil I was using was making darker heavier lines. Oh... I hope these all wash out beautifully after I get this completed. Then there were those last two rows that were 5-3/4 inches on one side instead of 6 inches.
These struggles bombarded my mind just like multiple arrows from a bow that had been released. In the midst of the barrage, uncertainty and frustration had taken leave as a new and refreshing conversation invaded my mind and spirit. It happened so quickly, I stopped to access this abrupt change I'd been experiencing. I was suddenly and lovingly reminded that what I was doing was an act of love for someone I loved dearly and that what I'd done was precious even with its imperfections.
God the Father loved His creation so much that He sent His very best to create a perfect solution for man kind. Although my lines and stitches weren't perfect in size, they did serve to connect and complete the patterns of squares that would identify themselves collectively as a 'quilt'. In a very gentle, but firm fashion, God reminded me that His perfect plan to send His son to complete the mission of salvation served to pave, identify, and complete the way to direct access with our Heavenly Father for all eternity.
As I admired and appreciated the mellow green fabric that backed the quilt, I was reminded of God's sweet rest that He desires that we enter into... to lie down in green pastures... where we leave the task of shepherding, leading, protecting and guiding to the One who does it best and knows us best... Our gentle Shepard, the Lord. He and He alone can lead us beside the still waters and quiet our souls.
I was reminded that even when my Heavenly Father sent His very best gift, His only Son, Jesus, He was continually judged and misjudged. Yet, it did not deter Him for completing the plan in any way. Just as this blanket would be a benefit to the recipient, God's gift was a blessing to all mankind. The darker lines of my second pencil were reminiscent of the blackness of my own sin that Jesus came to die for. Washing the quilt to make it clean would wash away the lines on the quilt just as Jesus' blood washed away our sin for all eternity.
In presenting this gift to my precious three-year-old-granddaughter, she had the choice of loving it or rejecting it. But my act of love was to simply to make and give the gift.
My granddaughter and I have played 'snuggle' under the blanket 'tent' many, many times. "Can we go under the tent?!", she'll say. She finds such joy in this little game- just her and her Grandma hiding under the blanket and getting away from the outside world. Just as she and I giggled, hid and connected, we'd peek at our own choosing.
As I fixed my eyes on the quilt again and replayed our 'game' that we love so much, I saw that as children of God, we have this same kind of opportunity to meet with our Heavenly Father. We can sit down in the presence of one who loves us supremely, where we can hide and He can be our refuge and our constant, personal friend.
As Jesus prayed in the garden for God's perfect will for His life in those crucial final hours before His unspeakable agony, I decided I needed to keep this blanket a while and pray over every inch of it and ask the Lord to accomplish His perfect will in her life, however He saw fit. Just as the cruel cross was used as a tool to grant us our salvation, my prayer is that this blanket will serve as a tool in its own special way to help lead her to a personal relationship with the Lord. There will be golden moments as we chat and she grows. There will be lots of questions she will need to ask. She will shed tears as she feels and ponders the hurts, the cares and the questions of life and her place in it. What an opportunity to share with her the Savior, what a friend she has waiting to have a personal relationship with her.
Precious moments... I realized God had met me in the commonness of life, in the middle of my project, in the middle of my thoughts- through something as simple and ordinary as the making of a quilt. He broke in to my world this morning to let me know that He is busy in the affairs of all things, big and small, and He let me know that all things matter. I was reminded that He desires and enjoys experiencing all things with us, even the making of a quilt for a wee one.
Contributed by Sandra Hall: sandy@gospelcom.net
The sun seemed to race uncontested as it headed to its high point in the morning sky. The tall evergreens and dense forestry in our neighborhood that served to invade the path of the sun quickly, very quickly, trailed far behind as the sun headed high in the sky for yet another scorching, humid day. The gentle glow of the sun's rays peered through the window blinds and seemed to wrap itself around me as I focused on the crisp, yet gentle green cotton fabric of the quilt... so soothing... so tranquil.
"Oh, I do hope she'll enjoy this quilt/bedspread that I'm making", I thought to myself. My eyes and body were still reeling from the rendezvous with errors and the corrections that concluded until earlier this morning at 1:30 AM. I sighed amidst the aches and kinks in my back that still spoke to me as I held that same relentless position while drawing more lines on the quilt. I knew this would not win any prizes at a fair. My tools for making this quilt were less than adequate- a broken ruler, a lead pencil, a bed that was smaller than the spread; a heavy table leaf served as a yard stick for those long lines and squares I was etching. My sewing machine was really not up to the task of stitching the project. Breaking six sewing needles and having the constant tension problems were evidence of my sewing machine's inadequacy. I'd worked so tirelessly on this so she'd have a beautiful, soft, and pretty blanket that she could call her own for her room.
Yet as I continued to straighten, draw and pin each pencil line row in place so the quilt batting and the squares would be just right for stitching, I couldn't help but feel someone could so easily look at this project of mine and find all those little flaws even though I'd worked so hard on it to make it just right. Not every stitch was an even one. Lines weren't perfect, but close. Although the little puckers were barely evident, nonetheless, there were still some of those.
As I was drawing the lines for stitching the squares that morning, I noticed that the pencil I was using was making darker heavier lines. Oh... I hope these all wash out beautifully after I get this completed. Then there were those last two rows that were 5-3/4 inches on one side instead of 6 inches.
These struggles bombarded my mind just like multiple arrows from a bow that had been released. In the midst of the barrage, uncertainty and frustration had taken leave as a new and refreshing conversation invaded my mind and spirit. It happened so quickly, I stopped to access this abrupt change I'd been experiencing. I was suddenly and lovingly reminded that what I was doing was an act of love for someone I loved dearly and that what I'd done was precious even with its imperfections.
God the Father loved His creation so much that He sent His very best to create a perfect solution for man kind. Although my lines and stitches weren't perfect in size, they did serve to connect and complete the patterns of squares that would identify themselves collectively as a 'quilt'. In a very gentle, but firm fashion, God reminded me that His perfect plan to send His son to complete the mission of salvation served to pave, identify, and complete the way to direct access with our Heavenly Father for all eternity.
As I admired and appreciated the mellow green fabric that backed the quilt, I was reminded of God's sweet rest that He desires that we enter into... to lie down in green pastures... where we leave the task of shepherding, leading, protecting and guiding to the One who does it best and knows us best... Our gentle Shepard, the Lord. He and He alone can lead us beside the still waters and quiet our souls.
I was reminded that even when my Heavenly Father sent His very best gift, His only Son, Jesus, He was continually judged and misjudged. Yet, it did not deter Him for completing the plan in any way. Just as this blanket would be a benefit to the recipient, God's gift was a blessing to all mankind. The darker lines of my second pencil were reminiscent of the blackness of my own sin that Jesus came to die for. Washing the quilt to make it clean would wash away the lines on the quilt just as Jesus' blood washed away our sin for all eternity.
In presenting this gift to my precious three-year-old-granddaughter, she had the choice of loving it or rejecting it. But my act of love was to simply to make and give the gift.
My granddaughter and I have played 'snuggle' under the blanket 'tent' many, many times. "Can we go under the tent?!", she'll say. She finds such joy in this little game- just her and her Grandma hiding under the blanket and getting away from the outside world. Just as she and I giggled, hid and connected, we'd peek at our own choosing.
As I fixed my eyes on the quilt again and replayed our 'game' that we love so much, I saw that as children of God, we have this same kind of opportunity to meet with our Heavenly Father. We can sit down in the presence of one who loves us supremely, where we can hide and He can be our refuge and our constant, personal friend.
As Jesus prayed in the garden for God's perfect will for His life in those crucial final hours before His unspeakable agony, I decided I needed to keep this blanket a while and pray over every inch of it and ask the Lord to accomplish His perfect will in her life, however He saw fit. Just as the cruel cross was used as a tool to grant us our salvation, my prayer is that this blanket will serve as a tool in its own special way to help lead her to a personal relationship with the Lord. There will be golden moments as we chat and she grows. There will be lots of questions she will need to ask. She will shed tears as she feels and ponders the hurts, the cares and the questions of life and her place in it. What an opportunity to share with her the Savior, what a friend she has waiting to have a personal relationship with her.
Precious moments... I realized God had met me in the commonness of life, in the middle of my project, in the middle of my thoughts- through something as simple and ordinary as the making of a quilt. He broke in to my world this morning to let me know that He is busy in the affairs of all things, big and small, and He let me know that all things matter. I was reminded that He desires and enjoys experiencing all things with us, even the making of a quilt for a wee one.
Contributed by Sandra Hall: sandy@gospelcom.net
