Quilts of Love

And the LORD said unto him (Moses),

“What is that in thine hand?” And he said, ” A rod.”

Exodus 4:2

 

Moses, after having been raised in the palace in Egypt, in adulthood found himself in trouble. He saw an Israelite being abused and murdered the offender. Out of fear for his own life, he fled into a wilderness area. He became a shepherd for the man who would become his father in law. That was quite a fall from prince to wilderness shepherd. One day, however, God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. He had a special job for Moses to do that caused Moses great concern. God wanted Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. Moses did what I think many of us have done with God on occasion. There have been a few times when I have felt God's call on my life to do something and suddenly I thought up 10 reasons as to why I wasn't equipt to do the job. Most of the time though, God has called me to things that involve abilities He's already put in me that maybe I didn't know I had.

Moses had leadership abilities, but God also saw in Moses a heart for spiritual things. Of all things, as Moses was questioning this call on his life, God asked Moses what was in his hand. It was just a crude rod, a tool that was commonly used by shepherds...nothing fancy, but practical and useable. That's what God wanted Moses to see about himself....nothing fancy, practical and hopefully, useable.

Her name was (and still is) Lois Lanoue. For her, it started several years ago, the wonderful ability of sewing. Not every seamstress can glance at a bolt of fabric and imagine a finished product from that bolt, but she could. I always found it interesting when I took her fabric shopping. I just stood back and watched as her beautiful hands (she had the most beautiful hands) touched and felt of various fabrics for quality, texture, and patterns. She generally kept several pieces of fabric on hand but sometimes, she just needed something different. After all, a call would have come saying that a new great grand baby was expected and she had to get busy.

When my Mother-in-Love's children learned they were to become grandparents, Mom was just about the first one notified. Mom had seven children. Really, she gave birth to eight but one baby girl was still born. From her seven children came 21 grandchildren. I can't really count how many great grandchildren Mom had but it is in the ball park of the mid fifties. Every great grandchild got a hand made baby quilt made by her accomplished hands. There was never a duplicate. Each quilt was made with each individual baby in mind. She never viewed this ministry of hers as being a chore.

At one time, her quilts had a lot of embroidery done on them, a lot of hand work. As she aged, Mom had to change her tactics as the sewing became more difficult with her eye sight not being what it was at one time. Still, each quilt's fabric was chosen by her, chosen with love. So many times, I saw the fabric and bunting on her twin bed as she worked to bring the precious quilt together

Mom's funeral was this last week. One of her son-in-law preachers was asked to speak at the funeral. In the process, he asked that baby quilts be brought to the funeral and, boy, did they come. Quilts were laid out on the back of pews at the front of the chapel. Not a one was like any other. Over the last several years, she had sewn all of those quilts.

When the funeral was over, we headed to the cemetery. It was a very cool and windy day so knew the service there would have to be short. When all of the cars arrived, car doors opened and from the cars came swarms of children. These great grandchildren, many now in grade school headed for the grave site. The thing that was amazing was seeing each great grandchild wrapped in his or her baby quilt as best as a child's body can be wrapped in a baby quilt. The children were just looking for a way of keeping warm. They didn't see the significance of standing at the grave side, wrapped in individual quilts. What a sight. Many of the quilts looked faded and the worse for wear, but that's the way she would have wanted it. It was a tribute in quilts for a Godly saint who had found a unique ministry in serving her family in a very special way.

Lois Lanoue was not a highly educated lady. She had given her life for her family and as best I can tell, each of her children knew they were dearly loved. She was a quiet person. My memory of her will always be that she was a true lady. She knew how to dress appropriately, sit with legs to one side with hands nicely folded on her lap. She wasn't a critical person but would speak up for right or wrong in her own way. She loved the Lord. I don't know how many times I passed the open door to her room when she lived with us and saw her with Bible, a devotional book or spiritual material on her lap. She loved attending church and Sunday school. She had wisdom that doesn't come from a university degree. Her wisdom was from the Lord with knowledge one earns from a life lived long and well pleasing to the Lord.

For Moses, a rod led to much greater things. Although Mom had been sewing garments for her children for years, when the great grandchildren started coming along, she couldn't afford elaborate gifts for each one, not that it was expected. She took a good look at what she could do that was going to be meaningful. It's almost as if God asked her, “Lois, what is that in your hand?” The answer for anyone who knew her well, knew the answer was: “A needle.” She used her ability that had been so much a part of her life. Today although she is in Heaven, she lives on here in many ways, but especially through a myriad of baby quilts.

I wonder what the rest of us would answer if God asked us what we have in hand that could be of service to Him? We all have those gifts God has instilled in us, gifts to be used for His kingdom and glory. Once we recognize those things God wants us to use for Him, we will know an unusual excitement, enthusiasm in serving God. Whatever that is in our hands that we choose to use for Him will be blessed in abundance.

Father, I thank you for the examples you have brought into my life that includes my mother-in-love. I want to be used of you and may I be your willing and obedient servant, no matter what you call me to be or do. May I be willing to use whatever it is You have place in my hands. I love You. Amen.

The Transparent Christian Woman

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where

the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass

the glory of the Lord, are changed into

the same image from glory to glory, even

as by the Spirit of the Lord.

II Corinthians 3:17,18

Over the last ten or so years, the word “transparent” has come to the forefront in our culture's vocabulary. It's an old word but maintains it's meaning. However, we're hearing it more and more. Politicians from the White House down to the mayors office of the smallest town in our country have all talked about being more transparent in their dealings with the public.

What is transparency? We might say that it's like glass in a physical sense. Glass in our windows are a necessity but just because they can be seen through, there can be problems even with glass. If windows are dirty, seeing clearly through a window may be skewed. In some of the old churches and cabins in the mountains near here, some of the glass in windows has been poured which causes a ripple effect in the window glass. You can still see through them but again, whatever is on the other side of the glass may appear to be warped.

Transparency as we are looking at we human beings, means that we are totally honest about who we are and who we want to be. It means that you and I strive in every way to be real in everyday life. These things are not the front we put up before others. These things are who we are even in the privacy of our lives when we are alone and no one else is around.

My husband and I have really had some smiles since talking with our daughter Beverly in recent days. She and a friend took their children to a special event. On the way home, our nearly five year old granddaughter Madelyn fell against the metal arm of a bench and got a pretty bad cut on her forehead. Of course it hurt and really bled but they got to a hospital and she bravely endured receiving six “string band aids” which is what the name is for stitches at that particular children's hospital emergency room.

While on the way to the hospital, Beverly prayed aloud for the situation they found themselves in. She prayed out loud with Madelyn for wisdom for the doctors, easing of pain and healing of the wound. Later when at the hospital, in their private room, Madelyn quietly said to her mom, “That prayer's not working.” Madelyn heard the sincere prayer of her mom but as far as she was concerned, the healing of the hurt just wasn't coming fast enough. I must hasten to add that Madelyn is one of the praying-est little girls I know of. She loves to pray and already at her young age, knows more about prayer than most adults. I believe God dearly loves the total honesty and yes, transparency of little children.

The thing is, I believe God dearly loves the total honesty of any of His children. We can do that without questioning God or being offensive. I know there have been times I have prayed about some things that I haven't gotten an answer for and I've felt like saying, “Lord, this just isn't working.” God wants us to be people of transparency and this is where real, genuine transparency begins...in our honest relationship with Him. Perhaps the main person we are the least transparent with is with God. We know He knows and sees everything about us but we are very often dishonest even with Him. I feel from the top of my head to the sole of my feet that the only people capable of true transparency are young children and Christians, Christians who are in right relationship with God. How can we expect a God- cursing, people-abusing, Jesus ignoring person to be transparent...just can't be done.

Let me suggest sometyhing that can help people in being more transparent. I suggest that one must step completely away from a life of pretense. When we live in a world of pretense, then we aren't being honest with ourselves, let alone others. We women are really good at this thing of pretense because of our growing up years. We grew up being pretenders. Do you ever talk to yourself when no one is around?...come on, honesty remember? As little girls we pretended and in our play, we talked to ourselves a lot. We played school, lining up our baby dolls to be our students. We cut out paper dolls, dressed them and pretended where they would go and what they would do as we moved them about. We played dress up with our mom's curtains or whatever we could get our hands on. We loved clopping along in our mom's high heels. We pretended...and by the way, we still do and it's not an insane thing to do, but it's not a good practice. During some bad, stressful days, pretending can ease the tension. However, that pretending can become hurtful when we seek to be someone before others we know we will never be. 

Casting down imaginations, and every high

thing that exalteth itself against the

knowledge of God, and bringing into

captivity every thought to the

obedience of Christ.

II Corinthians 10:5

 

Can we, with little Madelyn, be perfectly honest before God and even say, “It's not working.” We don't have to fear that people won't like the real us or that God will be mad at us. My first concern is to please my Heavenly Father and allow Him to take care of the rest. Honesty doesn't have to be offensive. In fact, honesty is meant to be a very meek and healthy way of life.

I've been reading in the four Gospels all of the red letters where Jesus did the speaking. I've shut out all of the circumstances and events (black letters) and am just reading what He has said. You will find no person more transparent than Jesus, even at the risk of losing friends, making enemies and even facing danger.

If we just let Jesus work in and through us, we'll never have to try to remember who we were yesterday or last week. We will walk in the freedom of true honesty and transparency. I hasten to add that our family and closest friends deserve our being consistent in our daily walk. When we meet new people, we won't have to think about impressing them with a fake front. We can walk in the freedom of just being “us” ...being who God created and wants us to be. This isn't really too difficult when we rely on our Heavenly Father to instruct and lead us as we walk with Him in close relationship which really is the key to it all.

Father...transparency is so much easier than putting on a front for others. I have my strengths that You've put in me but have my weaknesses that You know about as well. There are days when I have to say with Madelyn that “it's not working.” I want to be honest before You and others. Help it be so in my life. I love You. Amen

Stinkin' Thinkin'

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he....

Proverbs 23:7a

If you and I were to list every single sin we can think of, I wonder how long that list would be. The problem with sin is that it doesn't just happen. For either a short amount of time or an extended period of time, a sin in some form has occurred first in ones thoughts. Those thoughts are developed through things we experience over time.

 

Thoughts begin developing from the moment there is recognition of life on the part of a very young child. What happens from that time on stems from experiences in the home. When a child is school age, there begins a process of a child having to process events of life as they occur in different arenas other than in the home. At this time, there is more separation from parents and there begins to be input from other human beings. Some of this input comes from Sunday school teachers and other adults in the church setting. School begins too soon for many young children. It is in the school setting that a child's thinking can become confused. There can begin to be confusion between what has been learned at home and then teaching from teachers. It's not unusual for some teachers to even suggest to their students that they are to pay more attention them than their parents. Older children begin educating younger children regarding facts of life and often working on a child's moral thinking. I won't even go into the area of bullying that children may experience that can do real emotional damage.

The process continues and the world continues to bombard us with how we should think and behave and all of us have absorbed more of the world's philosophies than we should. However, now, unlike that young child going into the world for the first time, we have had choices through the years as to how we're going to think and about what. I'm afraid we have sometimes almost harbored old hurts and former negative experiences with no attempt to allow God to help us clean it all out, get rid of it and enjoy the fresh air of forgiveness and clean thinking.

Brian and I just finished doing some redecorating in my Sunday school classroom. We knew we had to do a paint job on two walls but we had no idea what else would need done. We stripped off an old border. It was a thick, very old mess. We then noticed wallpaper on the lower part of the wall that would require removal. How could I have ever thought that the job would be to just paint and put on a new border. We came across the metal vent in a lower wall that let in cool air in the summer and warm in the winter. Brian being Brian pulled it out of the wall only to find crud galore that was already smelly. He scraped, caulked where needed, cleaned and painted the vent which made all the difference in the world.

We could have painted and bordered the room til the cows came home but that vent, left to itself would have created some serious odor and even allergy problems. We couldn't see all of it until it was pulled out of the wall, checked, cleaned and scraped.

A lot of times, we feel we do some pretty good personal housecleaning. We may go to great lengths to doll ourselves up, put on a good front, but without cleaning out the crud of the world's influence, those hidden thoughts that don't honor the Lord, we will continue to poison and hinder us spiritually with stinkin' thinkin'.

The Psalmist's prayer in the verse below is for three things. I wonder how many of us would be able to pray these three things without hesitation before God. He first asks God to search him (that's checking the overall spirit and attitude of the person). Searching isn't a casual “look/see” but a close scrutiny. He also asks for God to know his thoughts not that God doesn't already know everything about us. It's the thoughts that have come as a result of the attitude, experience and spirit of the person. This indicates to me that God knows our thoughts better than we do and we need His Holy Spirit to reveal openly to us where we need to repent and confess the sin of wrong thinking. He asks God to try and test him. I don't think many of us would even be ready for that part even though as a spiritual exercise, it is good for us.

Are we courageous enough to pray this prayer with the Psalmist that we might stand before God with clean thinking and purity of spirit.

Search me, O God, and know my

heart: try me, and know my thoughts.

Psalm 139:23

AMEN and AMEN!!