Intertwined
A long time ago, in a far away place we went on prayer days once a month as a general rule. These were, at first, part of our agreement with the ministry we were serving with. When we left that ministry and entered into service with another we kept that as part of our agreement. They weren’t always easy, these prayer days, taking some effort to plan, and coordinate sometimes shifting logistics. They were a time to reflect, discern, listen, renew and rest. When these ended as a direct result of job.life changes the longing in my heart for these break from the ordinary routine and specifically and intentionally spend time reading and praying days were missed.
In early July my Sweetie pointed out a retreat day at our parish with Fr. Albert Haase, OFM on “Saying Yes to God” as this is a long running theme of my life I took the day to attend the retreat.
Fr. Albert read from Luke 18, the parable of the persistent widow. In a consistent flipping the script of the last 18 months Father asked us to give consideration to listening and hearing this parable differently, wherein God is the widow coming to us the unjust Judge who begrudgingly finds in favor of the widow. WOW. One thing Fr. Albert pointed out is that Luke sets up parables by giving the theme, or point and while I nearly felt dumb just learning that big of information, we learn when we learn. Anywho flipping that script with me being the Judge and God being the justice-seeking widow in this parable makes so much more sense. How often and in what ways do I say no to God?
The middle of the day I had the realization that, while unique to the individual and speaking deeply to individuals – both St. Frances de Sales in the Intro the Devout Life and St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, and St. Thomas’s Summa and Augustine’s Confessions are pretty much the same thing: God persisting in speaking to the pinnacle of Creation, human beings – male and female, telling them of his great Love and Passion.
The Love Languages of God
In all seriousness God does not have love languages. God is LOVE Period.
Let’s add quilting as God’s love language, and painting as God’s love language, and plumbing as a God’s love language, and cabinetry as God’s love language, and quilling as God’s love language, and farming as God’s love language, and building as God’s love language, stained glass windows are God’s love language, adobe buildings as God’s love language. But mostly we, each one of us created are God’s love language. God woo’s us, is persistent with us, runs to meet us when we come home, tells us that all he has is ours when we’re whining because that person came home, and spins yarn, and spins yarns, and knits and crochets and weaves, and paints and gives us a voice all our own to have a unique relationship with us.
As a quilter who pursues free-motion quilting with reckless abandon this is part of my vocation in this life. If you’re reading this blog it’s highly possible that quilting or some other form of art is part of your vocation and how you relate to God. When I dig into stitching, oh when I dig into the stitching, get into the flow, listen for the color and weight changes, or when I listen to people, to quilters specifically and hear where they are most deeply in need, and it isn’t always About the Quilting. Sometimes it’s about bolstering their courage to dive deeply in that place wherein they want to go but are fearful since it doesn’t seem that anyone is going with them on that path. It is entirely possible that this is part of the unique experience between God and you
And the beauty keeps pouring forth: Amy Wellborn. That last paragraph is brilliant.
And with that dear friends, in an ever meaningfully awkward way I dash off to plan and dance and quilt (when the a/c is back)
God bless,
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 