Dedication

Be patient and tough, someday this pain will be useful to you. – Ovid

I’m in the midst of reading a couple of books to review in various places and happened upon this dedication in one of the books. It spoke to my heart. I shared it with someone who was sharing her heart with me, it spoke to hear heart. Then, as it happens a blogger I follow posted  The Love and the Fury. At the same time I happened to be listening to a Catholic talk show where the host spoke of Mother Teresa’s Faith, how it was Faith, not a feeling, a Faith decision. And then, my own Patron Saint Therese, came to mind, how hers was Faith, an active decision without the warm, fuzzy, feelings to go with it. Warm, fuzzy, feelings are great, however they often leave us wanting and needing more, another “warm fuzzy” that tops the last warm fuzzy and the one after that should even be warmer and fuzzier. It’s not always like that. It shouldn’t be like that. St. Paul invites us to the table of the adults to eat meat, veggies and drink wine.

Love and Faith are action. Sometimes Love and Faith are painful and hard work. Stopping and listening. Caring enough to let go or caring enough to hold on until . . .

Love and Faith are hard work.

Love and Faith require us to stretch and grow

Love and Faith require us to view each person as someone worth of being loved and cared for regardless.

Yes God loves us. Yes God loves us passionately, without reservation. Yes God shows us Mercy and Grace. Love and Faith are our response to that. Does God need it? No. Does God want it? Yes. Will God withhold His Love/Mercy/Grace if we don’t respond in love? No. He continues to Show us Love, how to Love…why to Love. We are his greatest work.

Sean, the blogger in the link above, is responding to God’s love through his action. Does he need to? No. He just does. It is a response to God’s love. It is the response to God’s love that speaks deeply to his heart. It is the response God has whispered in his ear, “see here, these folks need to See my Love in a tangible way, would you help me?”

I teach quilting. But there is more I long to teach and show as I teach machine quilting. I long to have women in particular, quilters in general see that they can do this thing, that they can quilt, that they can make improvements and grow as quilters. That they can, as St. Paul calls us, come to the big show and do well. That they can choose motifs and borders and that there are quilters who lead the way.

I long to teach quilters that they are capable of the more they desire, long for. And I’m still learning that. I’m still learning that in so many ways. I’m showing how hard it is sometimes. How hard it is to respond to the yearning, that longing in my heart to be more for the quilters in my world. I long to respond to the generosity of other quilters, leaders in the community with the same kind of generosity shown me along the way.

This blog, TerifiCreation, teaching, and mentoring are all part of that.

Thank you for sharing this Journey with me.

God bless!

Teri

who longs to be patient and do the work