God Whispers – A Life of Memories Captured in a Quilt
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-14 NIV
My mom loved to sew, and she made my clothes when I was growing up. She took such great care in making them that I would often get asked, “Where did your mom buy that dress?” I would proudly say, “She made it for me.” She would do alterations for friends and family. Her work was so well done that she could have opened her own clothing store. But she charged nothing. She said it was a gift that God gave her that she enjoyed sharing.
I loved our trips to the fabric store. I gathered bolts of fabric in my favorite colors and designs, while mom flipped through all the pattern books, looking for that one special dress. She bookmarked pages for me to look at for dresses, jumpsuits, shorts, and tops. We spent hours there picking out the right fabric.
When my aunt retired from teaching, she joined her church’s quilting club. They made quilts for first time moms and the homebound. At first, the group did everything by hand. Later, they brought their sewing machines. As prices of fabric increased, the group had a hard time keeping up with the demand for quilts. The seamstresses drifted from the group, but my aunt was in love with quilting.
One day, my aunt asked if my mom would save the extra fabric pieces for her to use in her quilts. Mom collected a bag full of scraps and gave them to my aunt.Using the scraps, my aunt made a quilt that stayed on the back of her couch. When she would get cold, she would wrap up in it. It was my favorite because I saw pieces of my clothing in it, along with clothing from other family members.
Recently, I received that quilt, still in great shape after all these years. I recognized the pieces of my Easter dresses, my dad’s shirt, mom’s brown jacket, and my grandmother's dress. What memories it brought back.
As my fingers traced over the quilt, I was taken back to my childhood. I remembered my family wearing those clothes. I was amazed how the quilt had lasted through the years.
Jesus weaves our stories together as if He is making a quilt. I imagine Jesus writing the chapters of our lives, weaving in our first steps to our last breath in one book. One day when we see Him, He will say, “Here’s your story. Notice I was in it from the very beginning – through all the high and low times. I walked beside you. You might not have felt my presence but, as you will see, I was there through the person who reached out to you in your grief and the times I sat quietly by your bedside watching you sleep.” What an amazing God we serve.
Mitzie Avera
