I attended Mass away from home this week but the beautiful thing is that no matter where I am the readings are just the same. While the readings are the same, the preaching is different. In a way it’s kind of refreshing to hear a different voice as I will tune in differently.
This Priest picked up on several points in the readings including the fact that Moses, though he led the Israelite’s to the Promised Land, he was not allowed to enter. How heartbreaking! God wasn’t being mean to Moses, rather it was the natural consequence of Moses’ own actions. Moses squandered the Promise. (As an aside, that is the best explanation of purgatory I’ve heard in a long time. We see at the Transfiguration that Moses is living in the Presence of God, he just had to wait.)
As soon as Mass was over I went to a quilt show with one of the ad managers from Gen Q and her daughter, who graciously served as our official photographer. As much as I am part of the larger quilting industry I still love to go to quilt shows and connect with quilters and vendors. I got to hug a some really lovely people. As I look at quilts I am reminded of my own beginnings as a quilt maker, the road traveled and the openness to going someplace new. I look a quilts differently now. I look at them, I see the work and can acknowledge the quilt-makers effort and skill. I can appreciate the use of fabric and that it may not be a way that I’d put fabric together, however it doesn’t diminish the beauty of the quilt. And I got to thinking about how I look at the gifts God has given me to use, wondering if I use them well, do I honor Him in the process? So, well it goes deeper. Mmm, am I actively participating in the creative process…am I getting lost in the beauty of the moment.
And then, I pause. I look at what I’m asking myself or more to the point what I’m doing: I’m judging my actions or, in this case a seeming lack of action based on…what? I know that, based on experience, the times that I’m the quietest in the creative process usually lead to something big. I’ve been thinking a lot about the book project and what I need to do in order to complete it. It’s been just the last few days where I’ve had a few moments where what I need to do has come to mind. Squandered Creativity? No, it’s not. It’s active listening. When I’ve mentioned what I want to do to a couple of friends they confirmed that this is the right direction. And it clarifies something I was planning for further on in the book.
And the thought process opens, like a rose, petal by sweet, fragrant petal opens slowly til it blooms fully.
God bless,
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 