Quilt Work
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 (NIV)I recently went through all of my material and pulled out the scraps that were too small to do anything else with. After measuring and slicing for hours on end, the result was a multi-colored stack of memories. I remember where each piece of cloth came from, and on which occasion the rest of that material was used – a curtain here, a table cloth there, a waist coat, a wedding gift or a birthday gift.
As I choose the material, lay out the pattern of blocks, and decide how to shape that quilt for a particular friend, I realize that occasional darker materials give needed contrast to the lighter materials.
Sometimes all we see are the dark colors of our lives – things we would rather not remember; but God sees the big picture, and knows what He's doing. Trials come into every life; but as we give our lives into the hands of the Master, He can take those materials and create something beautiful, something useful, and something full of good memories.
Father, please take my scraps and do what you do so well, giving beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3). Amen.
By Stephanie (Zurich, Switzerland)
