God Changed Me

 

  I’ve been a quilter for a very long time and have made many.  Each is unique and I enjoy the process as much as the completed project.  I had an experience a few years ago, however that completely unraveled me —and inspired me at the same time!

A good friend of mine was going through a terrible time and with God’s nudging I decided to make her a ‘personal sized’ quilt and pray for her while I worked on it.  

      As I cut out the material for the backing, I realized I didn’t have enough of the same fabric to finish it.   So I improvised with another print and arranged a design with those specific blocks which I liked.  I even took a picture of the back so I could put the quilt together just as I planned.

  I lap quilt--so each block is quilted before I put all of it it together  As I'm finishing, I realize I've sewn it wrong--- on the last row the 'extra' colored piece was in the wrong place.  

I was mortified!  I turned the quilt over, believing I’d totally ruined it, and burst into tears.... My mistake was now a cross!  That was NOT me!  That was totally a God thing and I still have no clue how I ‘messed it up’!  All quilts since then, that I've given away, have a purposeful cross on the back, intentionally placed, by design!

We all make plans, whether they are for a trip we want to take, a list of things we want to accomplish, even weekly plans just to keep track of where we are supposed to be on any given day.

When things go wrong, even having to take a detour while driving, we can become frustrated because our plans had to change.  Sometimes it’s just about the 'time it takes' to go another direction, --even though the destination is the same.

I admit, I love detours.  I call it ‘taking the scenic route.’  

We often think the interruption of our well laid out plan is the problem. Sometimes while driving we miss our road and have to keep going because there isn’t a convenient ‘turn around’.  

        We don't know why we missed that turn or what lies ahead on the alternate route. Perhaps we’ll see something we would otherwise have missed. Perhaps we'll have an unexpected opportunity to recognize God at work. Or perhaps we'll simply have to adjust and keep going!

Other interruptions bring people into our path. We’re frustrated because we are running late, and then it seems like we get behind every slow driver on the planet just to get to where we’re supposed to be. And to our surprise we have the opportunity to see and talk with someone we haven’t been around for years!  Or perhaps we meet a stranger who needed a dose of kindness we were able to give.

We may never know why some of these interruptions happen, but we can remain open to the possibilities they bring.

Despite our well laid out plans, God sometimes leads us in a direction we never intended to go.

I was trying to solve a problem with my quilt. I was short of the required fabric, so I carefully planned a way to make up for it. But God did something that I never intended to happen.  What I thought was a mistake became a lasting reminder of the Cross.  It not only changed the quilt, but it changed me!

God reminded me that He cares about all areas of our lives— even the every day ones.  I’m a quilter….who recognizes that He is present in every single quilt I create.  He cares about the person who will receive it, and also me.  What a gift!

Things That Don't Make The MIT List

 

  I have L.O.N.G. to-do list….even a spreadsheet on my computer called ‘MIT List’—(Most Important Tasks).  It has everything imaginable that I could do, from writing and studying to cleaning and sewing and what seems like numerous other sub-categories.  Some days I look at the list and think ‘oh my goodness which ones today’?  But that said, I also have another list on my ‘calendar’ that usually means these are the ones most pressing!

WHAT I’VE NOT ACCOMPLISHED!

These lists aren’t necessarily what I want to do on any given day, and there are outside activities that aren’t even considered when I create my ‘day to day’ list.  Sometimes I wonder why I even bother…especially when I look at what I’ve not accomplished at the end of the week.

FEELING GUILTY

Honestly, I’d love to accomplish everything I’ve set out to do, and sincerely believe if I keep working at it, I can squeeze just one more thing in.  Then I feel guilty when it doesn’t happen.  Am I the only one who finds this happening?

Our world consistently bombards us with an almost fanatical push to get things ‘done’—-and when you fail…..  you are…well…at some level, a failure.  It’s a guilt tactic, that honestly works and makes us believe the lie that productivity is why were created.

WHERE IS THE LINE?

I wonder though… where is the line between productivity and productivity for the Kingdom?  What are we missing?

SITTING WITH JESUS

I’m reminded of Mary and Martha in the Bible and Jesus told Martha that Mary was doing the best thing by sitting with Jesus.  She chose to be with Jesus rather than doing something for Jesus.  Her intentions were totally good, yet they weren’t the ‘best.’

Do we do that?  Do we work so hard to do something for someone…. even God —-that we miss the most important part—-  just being with them? We all need human closeness and companionship.  Our world has gotten so caught up in technology, some have even lost the ability to connect face to face with another human being!

STEALING THE ‘LIFE’ OUT OF RELATIONSHIPS

We have instant communication possibilities with people across the globe, yet is the ‘communication’ missing something important?  Is it stealing the ‘life’ out of relationships?

There are people all around us who are withdrawing into their worlds of the emails and texts or other forms of communication and are starving to death for emotional connection and probably don’t even realize it.

Relationships are failing….and we wonder why.  Relationships take effort; an effort with an emotional commitment, to grow.  When we stop communicating with our spouse, our kids, or friends, the ‘warmth’ and intimacy of interaction becomes less and less, much like a fire that needs stoking with more wood just to keep it going!  You stop feeding that fire and it eventually will grow cold because it has run out of the ‘energy’ just to keep it going.

WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT?

There comes a time when we need to look at our ‘lists’ and decide to choose what is important.  Sure, that floor is gonna need sweeping, laundry washed and other domestic duties done.  Our workplace is going to require our attention and commitment to do our job well, and other activities will be calling for our attention.  

GOOD, BETTER, BEST

But ultimately we have to decide what is ‘good, better, and best’.   To have a relationship with humans in our physical lives, and God in our spiritual lives, we must make a choice.  Are we going to focus on the world of ‘to-do’ or be like Mary when she chose to be with Jesus and not just ‘do’ for Him? 

Photo Credit:  To-Do List