Just Quilt!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)

A few years ago my daughter-in-law, Missy, and I embarked on our very first quilting adventure. For years I wanted to make a quilt, but was never brave enough to start one. Missy was going through a difficult time, and I was also feeling rather pulled down by the stress of daily life. We had our own little slogan that made us laugh. We would say, “When life gets you down, just quilt!” It was fun and a great stress relief to think of overcoming our problems by making a quilt. We even joked about having T-shirts made with our slogan on them.

I signed up for some quilting classes online and Missy decided to join me. We were so excited to get started on our new endeavor. One Saturday afternoon we set out for Joann Fabrics with so much enthusiasm about our quilts that we felt as if we could conquer the world. Like artists selecting the perfect palette of colors for a painting, we compared various fabrics, choosing the perfect blend of colors for our new project. We felt like kids in a candy store sifting through the many rotary cutters, mats, threads, and needles. We took our time, making sure we had everything we needed to get started. Soon, we were ready to begin cutting out our fabric. We were surprised at how long it took to cut out all those little squares and triangles. Each piece of fabric was unique and we were excited to see what it would look like when finished. What we weren’t prepared for was the amount of work that goes into making a quilt! We soon learned that a lot of hard work and sore fingers go along with quilting. We also learned that it was worth the effort.

This afternoon, as I prepared fabric scraps for my next quilting project, I thought about how living our lives as Christians is like making quilts. When we first accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we become new creations, forgiven of our old sins, but that doesn’t mean God is finished with us. He knit us together in our mother’s wombs, and He knows the plans He has for us. Just as a lot of work and time will go into my new quilting project before I see the results of a lovely quilt, God has plans to craft us into lovely women whose lives are a beautiful reflection of Him. Our lives are made up of many different “scraps” and each one fits together uniquely as we are gradually fashioned and molded into the women He designed us to be. God hand selected each unique part of us to fit together in our own personal tapestries, all in His perfect timing. We are one of a kind, designed perfectly by the Great Designer! We are works in progress and will not become complete until our time on this earth is over. Each trial, difficulty, hardship, joy, and victory is lovingly stitched by the hand of God, woven into the fabric of our lives, fashioning us into the beautiful women He created us to be.