This week we lighted the candle of joy. My heart hasn't feeling any joy lately as I'm still processing the horrific stories of rape and suffering in Rwanda and the DRC. How can I feel joy, knowing of all the women suffering there and in the rest of the world? Then God reminded me that it was exactly into such a world that He became Emanuel. The message of Christ is light and peace and joy!
But still there is this nagging feeling and question: yes, but it's not just a message and it doesn't mean anything if this message doesn't push us into actions to share this in a world steeped in suffering and darkness.
So I will continue to quilt and use my gifts to shine light into the dark places, wherever I can help. I will seek out places where I can listen to the stories of the suffering and voiceless. I will hug and comfort those who are mourning through my quilts.
I walked into the Lego store with my eldest son yesterday! He's 21 in a few weeks but Lego still has an attraction to both of us. I always threatened to vacuum up the pieces if it wasn't cleaned from the floor, but never could go through with it because each little block is precious, when you want to build something.
When I started quilting I would keep every little scrap and bit, because you never know, you may need it later! As the years went by I strayed from that notion a bit and will only keep pieces that are at least 1" by 4". There's a fine line between "hoarding" and "saving for later".......
I went into a scrap bag and found this little square already made with blue polkadots. I went through the whole bag and found enough scraps to make 8 squares in total. The next day I went to all the fabric stores to find matching material, because you'll never find enough scraps of the same material to make a whole quilt (Murphy's law for quilters). Of course I couldn't find that print anymore, so had to become creative and find alternative fabric.
The moral of the story I haven't quite figured out.
- One little thing can send you on a goose chase and you waste a lot of time?
- it's important to keep notes of which fabric you bought when and where?
- Always keep enough scraps to make a whole quilt?
- Every little scrap counts and with an open mind and creativity anything can turn out beautiful?
God send us a little baby to start with. What we do with him is up to us!
The block pattern of this quilt is called "lost nine patch". You sew a nine patch and then you slice it crosswise and then rearrange the blocks to this stunning result. I called this quilt "lost daffodils".
I remember playing hide and seek and the disappointment of not being found. It's funny that we want to find a hiding place that won't be found, but deep inside we all want to be found.
I've come to realize that feeling lost isn't necessarily a bad thing. It stirs my creative juices and I learn to think outside of the box, just as God was thinking outside of the box.This advent I was reminded of God's playfulness and creativity in finding a "lost" world. He took an ordinary family with an ordinary baby. But by putting a cross through the middle he rearranged everything and the end result is stunning too!
How silently, how silently this wondrous gift is given
So God imparts in human hearts the blessing of his heaven
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in
