Sometimes things feel harder stone. Or they’re dang hard making the relief afterward is so blessed that you begin to wonder what the ever lovin’ heck was I waiting for. I got help that made a hard task less burdensome.
Well this opened the door to Creativity.
And Creativity opened the door to a bit of thinking/prayer, which oddly enough happened in the car on the way to an appointment.
LOVE IS
Patient
Kind
not jealous
Not arrogant
not inflated
Rejoices in Truth
Bears all things
Believes all things
Endures all things
LOVE NEVER FAILS
Fear is the opposite of love, it hinders the beauty of love, it’s jealous, arrogant, inflated, rude, selfish, quick-tempered, brooding over injury. Fear distorts how we see and perceive our life, and our very self. Fear of not fitting in. Fear of not making good work. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of “others taking my place where I belong”. Fear of _____________________ (insert your fear here). This was driven right to the core the last few days. It is so challenging to live in Faith, with Peace, trusting that all will be well.
Fear keeps us from exploring deeply the gift of quilting we’ve been given, because we’re afraid that someone won’t like it, will take the gift we make for them and not appreciate it. We’re afraid to keep exploring to discover more of who we are, to unpack the mystery of our uniqueness. We’re afraid that our heart, our self will be wounded deeply. And these are all possibilities.
What if we gave in, gave over to LOVE?
What if it didn’t matter what other people thought about our work? What if we learned to express our heart through quilting any way? What would we notice that is MORE about our self, what would we notice that is different about us? What would we express that is unique and fun, and internal and quiet, and bright and vibrant, and soft and kind? What sameness, safeness is removed freeing us?
And then I read a reflection on Refiners Fire.
That reminded me of God’s burning, passionate desire to reveal the beauty of who we are. That the things we experience, painful though they are, are opportunities to draw closer to Him, to his Word (Jesus), to be moved by the spirit. A refiner is careful to remove the impurities in the metal, making it more malleable. Someone who is malleable is willing to learn, stretch, grow, become something other than what they are in this moment.
The gift of Creativity is like the breath of the Spirit moving us forward. Sometimes like a gentle refreshing breeze. Sometimes like a hurricane or tornado – moving us to places we never imagined. Sometimes like the refiners fire, removing impurities that are obstacles to a closer relationship with God, our Selves, and our Neighbors.
This week in faith and quilting I’m going to let LOVE run right through me like the ocean rushes to meet the shore.
God bless!,
Teri
PS Would you be interested in Forty Days of Prayer for the Quilter?
A Quilter's Heart 