[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, September 6, 2013

[Paul]

Well folks, another Friday is upon us, at least for most of us in this world as I'm writing this, although you in most of Europe are about to turn the corner onto Saturday.  However your day is going, about to go or about to begin, I hope that it was, is and will be a good day, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.

Again we have an article with no author's name attached to it, but we do have the name of the source for it.  This is from a compilation called "More Stories For the Heart," and the piece in question is entitled "The Crazy Quilt," rendered as follows:

I have an old quilt made by my father's grandmother.  It's not a beautiful quilt, and all the fabric appears to be quite old.  But I love it.

The pieces are probably leftover scraps from Aunt Fran's apron, little Mary's Easter dress, or Grandpa's favorite shirt.  They are odd shapes and sizes.  Some nameless shapes have hooks and curves, long slivers of fabric painstakingly sewn with dozens of meticulous stitches.  A few tiny patches are smaller than my thumbnail.

Some of the fabric is very plain with dull color.  I can just hear some tired mother say, "But, dear, it's a very serviceable cloth," while her daughter frowns at the new school dress.  Other pieces are bright and cheery, like snippets of birthdays, summer vacations and fun times gone by.  A few fancier pieces are satiny smooth with embossing or embroidery; they seem to whisper of weddings, dances, a first kiss ....

My father's grandmother was nearly blind, and perhaps that explains why the shades appear haphazardly arranged and almost seem to shout at each other.  I wonder if she ever realized what her creations looked like, or did she simply go by touch? They do have an interesting texture--smooth next to bumpy, seersucker alongside velvet, and all over the quilt, hundreds of tiny stitches, almost invisible to the eye, pucker ever so slightly.

If I were blind, I would like to make quilts like this.

Recently my own family relocated to a new town, and I was in bed with the flu, wrapped in my great-grandmother's crazy quilt.  I felt sorry for myself and I missed the friends I'd left behind.  Deep down, I knew it was partly my own fault--I hadn't taken the steps to establish new friendships.  Several acquaintances seemed willing, but I was holding back, hesitating.

As I studied the crazy quilt, I thought of the many friends I'd had throughout my life.  Some felt a bit scratchy and rough like a sturdy piece of wool, but in time they softened, or I became used to them.  Others were delicate, like silk, and needed to be handled with care.  Some were colorful and bright and great fun to be with.  A few special others felt soft and cozy like flannel, and they knew how to make me feel better.

Many of my friends have only been around for a season.  So often I've had to leave them behind, or they leave me! And yet, in my heart, I know they are friends for life.  If I met them on the street tomorrow, we would hug and laugh and talk nonstop.  It would seem like yesterday.

And that's because God has sewn them into my heart.

I pulled the old quilt closer around me, comforted and warmed by my memories.  Surely, my own masterpiece--this quilt of friendships I fretted over--was not nearly finished, I would make new friends in this town.  And like my great-grandmother, trusting her fingers to lead her, I would, by faith, reach out.

And there you have the daily thought article for today which I hoped you enjoyed reading.

And now until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily thought message will be posted, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul