My grandmother has a stack of quilt pieces put back for when she feels like piecing another quilt together. I have 2 of those quilts already, made from hours of my grandmother piecing together memories of our lives. My blue quilt, as we call it, is complied of precious memories and pieces. The center 3 pieces come from my great grandmother Tarpley. They were scraps from some apron or dress she had. The next several rows are from matching dresses that mom and I wore when I was a baby. The other rows are from various other scraps my grandmother found or saved from some piece of material, mostly from my life and the dresses she made for me. It is a patchwork of memories and love.
The labor and time put in to making my quilt was great. I don't think I ever realized how much it must have cost my grandmother, not financially, but in energy. It is a precious gift. One I did not deserve or even appreciate until recently. My quilt has been well worn. We have snuggled with it during those cold winters and used it to lay our babies on. It has been taken on various camping trips because it would keep us warmer than the average blanket. It is easy to say it has been with us through many moments of our lives. I do wish I had cared for it better. I should have protected it more, since now it shows the wear and tear of time and love.
I started thinking last night as I looked around the room during the memorial service for a dear Christian man, how much the people who have touched my life are like those precious squares that make up my quilt. The memories that I share with the people who have touched my life leave me with that warm feeling, much like my quilt. Each person is a precious piece, placed specifically in my life at the right time and in the right place. Each person has left a piece of them self in the creation of the person I have become. Each person is a part of me, irreplaceable and loved.
I looked at the pieces of my life as I stood there remembering our pasts. Past bible hours. Past JOY buses. Past slumber parties and ski trips. Past piano lessons, past cookouts and campouts. Many memories flooded my mind, filling me with want for those days with all our family together. The good memories and the bad. There were hugs and tears. We caught up on life and there were no imaginary boundaries between us. No miles, or beliefs, no hurts to keep us apart. We were all together again remembering the pieces of our lives and the quilt they had made. How much like heaven this must have been! When we all are together again. How happy and warm it will be! Tears of joy and happiness and no more sorrow and loss. When we can all be together again and sing and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as one voice and one body.
I found myself longing for those days. I started feeling sadness over those relationships that are so far from me now. I even began doubting and questioning the reasons for all the changes that have happened. Then, as I started feeling this loss and sadness, I realized that as precious as those relationships are to my life, what God needs from me is relationship with HIM first. Those people and moments may be past, but my God is still the same. He is still here, calling me in to a closer walk and relationship with Him. That is what is the center piece to my quilt. These past memories and people are not lost because we are quilted together with the center piece, God our Father.
My quilt is full of memories from my past. I can only imagine what lies ahead and what pieces will be added to my memory quilt. I may long for the old and remember with love the days of my youth, but as I saw in a room filled with old and new friends, God has many more beautiful pieces to add. Each piece, each memory, each person that is added to my life, I want to handle with care and patience. I want to cherish the time allowed to us. I know that I need to handle this quilt with care and never let it become tattered and worn. This is a most precious quilt, given to me by my Father, to cover me with His love and warmth.
The labor and time put in to making my quilt was great. I don't think I ever realized how much it must have cost my grandmother, not financially, but in energy. It is a precious gift. One I did not deserve or even appreciate until recently. My quilt has been well worn. We have snuggled with it during those cold winters and used it to lay our babies on. It has been taken on various camping trips because it would keep us warmer than the average blanket. It is easy to say it has been with us through many moments of our lives. I do wish I had cared for it better. I should have protected it more, since now it shows the wear and tear of time and love.
I started thinking last night as I looked around the room during the memorial service for a dear Christian man, how much the people who have touched my life are like those precious squares that make up my quilt. The memories that I share with the people who have touched my life leave me with that warm feeling, much like my quilt. Each person is a precious piece, placed specifically in my life at the right time and in the right place. Each person has left a piece of them self in the creation of the person I have become. Each person is a part of me, irreplaceable and loved.
I looked at the pieces of my life as I stood there remembering our pasts. Past bible hours. Past JOY buses. Past slumber parties and ski trips. Past piano lessons, past cookouts and campouts. Many memories flooded my mind, filling me with want for those days with all our family together. The good memories and the bad. There were hugs and tears. We caught up on life and there were no imaginary boundaries between us. No miles, or beliefs, no hurts to keep us apart. We were all together again remembering the pieces of our lives and the quilt they had made. How much like heaven this must have been! When we all are together again. How happy and warm it will be! Tears of joy and happiness and no more sorrow and loss. When we can all be together again and sing and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as one voice and one body.
I found myself longing for those days. I started feeling sadness over those relationships that are so far from me now. I even began doubting and questioning the reasons for all the changes that have happened. Then, as I started feeling this loss and sadness, I realized that as precious as those relationships are to my life, what God needs from me is relationship with HIM first. Those people and moments may be past, but my God is still the same. He is still here, calling me in to a closer walk and relationship with Him. That is what is the center piece to my quilt. These past memories and people are not lost because we are quilted together with the center piece, God our Father.
My quilt is full of memories from my past. I can only imagine what lies ahead and what pieces will be added to my memory quilt. I may long for the old and remember with love the days of my youth, but as I saw in a room filled with old and new friends, God has many more beautiful pieces to add. Each piece, each memory, each person that is added to my life, I want to handle with care and patience. I want to cherish the time allowed to us. I know that I need to handle this quilt with care and never let it become tattered and worn. This is a most precious quilt, given to me by my Father, to cover me with His love and warmth.
4 comments:
Thank you Denise, this was beautifully said and filled with wisdom. You are so gifted! I love to log on and see when you have written some new masterpiece:)
Kerrie
Kerrie,
Thank you, my friend. Your words are too kind, but I will tell you that any wisdom I seem to have has some other inspiration. I often am prompted to write and words pound in my head until I put them in to some form of writing. I wish it was all me, but I know it is not. Thank you again for always being so supportive. You are one of those precious pieces...
Love ya....
Again, you have made tears in my eyes. Realizing our life is so short here on Earth and the Big picture is what God wants. He gives us our memories and our future. I am thankful for all He does, and scared sometimes too. I hope you do put all these together in a book someday....
Denise,
This is beautifully said. We were just talking about the treasure that we store in heaven, and you my friend are a true treasure.
I love quilts and all the memories that they bring to mind, and now each time I look at one I will see them in a different light. One more reminder that God is the center of life and relationships.
love you, Connie
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