Psalm 139:13 (NIV)
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me
together in my mother’s womb.
For many years it has been a custom for women to gather
and help each other sew quilt patches of various designs. They would take turns
meeting at each other’s home. Perhaps for a new bride they would each prepare
patches for a double wedding ring design, or for someone who was ill or a shut-in,
the flower garden design. Maybe for a 50th anniversary they would stitch a
memory quilt, which included dates, names of children, Bible verses, and other
memories that were so lovingly made by ladies for the family. Often at the
"Bees" the ladies would sing, but mostly delightful chatter and
laughter filled the room.
It is a blessing that my mom and wife enjoy working with their
hands, and over the years made many quilts for family members and friends from
church with beautiful patterns. We have a quilt that my wife’s grandmother made
for her, that after many years she and her mom remade using many of the original
pieces. This special quilt is now our bed spread representing three generations
of loving handy work.
When I take the time to really look at the quilt I see
those pieces stitched together as something very beautiful and think of the
hours of love that went into each stitch. It also makes me think of God and how
He is able to do that with our lives, if we allow Him. He often takes the
mistakes and pieces that we throw away, thinking they're no longer of use, and
He keeps them to make something special out of them. Often He takes us through
valleys that are deep to teach us to trust in Him, and we wonder when it will
end. And then the mountain top comes into view, and we realize without the
valleys the mountain might never have been reached.
If we truly give Him our daily struggles and broken
pieces of our lives and allow Him to work by making us whole, He is able to
design something beautiful. Just like all the different scraps that we can't
imagine will be something pretty, a lovely quilt is made. God is like that, if
we leave the worries and scraps of our lives at His feet, without taking them
back, He delights us by giving us beauty beyond what we could ever imagine.
Quilts are very popular today and we see them in
department stores, antique malls and specialty shops. Next time you see a quilt
take a minute and remember that God has put you together like a quilt with a
collection of parts and when it is all together it is the masterpiece that He
has wanted for you.
Dear Lord, we thank You that You have made us a beautiful
quilt. Help us not dwell on the little pieces of our life but how You put them
all together to be something special. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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