Savor the Graces

Luke 17: 11-19

“Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Jesus said this to me as I knelt before Him. Thanking him. Praising Him for healing me of leprosy. Thank you Jesus for making me well. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for restoring me to my family. I have ached to hold them close again. To kiss my husband and children, to visit with my friends again. To worship with my community again. Oh! I am well! I am so grateful.

My youngest was little, three, when we noticed this spot on my skin. He’ll be about ten now. My husband makes a point several times a year to come out to the leper colony so I can see himself and our children. My heart aches for them. I get to see them. None of the others get to see their kids. Our hearts all ache. That my husband comes, well, in some ways this has brought us closer as we’ve talked, lived together. We’ve had to band together for protection and to eat. These other women and I. They will be so happy to see their families again, to be home. Home. Oh to be home again.

I’m so glad that Sarah saw Jesus and had the courage to call out to him. Once she did we all joined in calling. Jesus! Master, have mercy on us! Saran and Elizabeth have been away from their families the longest. I can see them running to show themselves to the priests and then going for the mikvah. Oh how delightful. I can imagine their joy, the giddiness of their restoration.

Oh and Anna, she was so young when she joined us. Her little one was still nursing. Oh how her heart ached and pined. She still cries herself to sleep at night. Anna thinks no one hears, but we all do. We know. We know Anna. For we all share that ache with you. It is so good to be heading home. It is so good to be heading home.

And Jesus. I will find him again. I want to hear him teach again. Have Mercy on me O God.

The beautiful thing here Jesus is that You know their stories. You know their hearts. You know the gratitude of their beings as they hurried off to do your bidding and how themselves to the Priests. You understand their obedience. You also know their deep joy. You know the relief from whatever physical pain and the deep wounds in their heart. While the precise words are recorded here my Jesus I can imagine this was a great profession of faith by this Samaritan (woman). Oh You, dear Lord, knew, You Know, You know. You Know their hearts.

For weeks the sewing room has lived in a big of disarray as I’ve prepared for an online event that happened on Thursday. The computer is back on my desk, the cat 5 ethernet cable is no longer trailing from the living room, up the stairs to the sewing room, and the extra table is returned to the garage. Winding silk thread onto bobbins for a quilt design residing in my heart was the next step, and one more decision for the quilt based on the Lunar Eclipse.

The thread is on the sewing table in all its red, red-orange, purple and orange hues. Some used for another quilt based on this eclipse. While taking the batik linen and radiance pin basted quilt from the top of the pressing station I thought about what thread to use on the back of the quilt. First I pulled the deeper colors of a 100 weight polyester, which will work. Then opened the drawer with the silk thread and that’s it. There are shades of purple, blue, and black that will make an appearance, seven bobbins are wound with this beautiful silk thread.

Yes, quilter friend you are right, silk thread is more expensive, why would I use it on the back? Because with this quilt it makes so much sense. The back is a silk/cotton blend with a bit of a shimmer to it and it is a terrific background for any whole cloth style quilt. So meeting the beauty of the fabric makes sense. Further because silk isn’t grabby as a thread it’s perfect in the bobbin particularly if I decide to use a bit of copper metallic on the top. I’m hoping it’s as subtly pretty as imagined

. Here’s a bit of a sneak preview with where I’ve started stitching on the quilt. There are two layers of batting. While the light doesn’t show it well, this linen has subtle variations in color. It’s so, so beautiful.

On this Palm Sunday I leave you with this:

Let your imagination bring you closer to Jesus in heart and mind and way of being. Entering into the Gospels in this way is so delightful and enlightening. Jesus is so gentle and humble.

Teri