What I Learned Quilting

Psalm 104:24 – How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. (NIV)

This has been a year for me where I have started to accomplish things that I have wanted to do for a long time but never seemed to have the opportunity to do so before. It may be because my children are just that much older now that I have felt that I could leave them in the care of others (usually their dad!) and go learn some of these new things.

I want to share with you some of my thoughts about learning to quilt. Quilting is one of those things in which I have admired the work of others and appreciated the time that must been involved in creating such works of art, but which I never actually attempted myself. However, not too long ago I saw that a quilting workshop was being held within our presbytery, for experienced quilters, but also for people like me who have never quilted. It really sounded like a great idea — a full day away to do something that I always wanted to learn. Then a couple of my friends approached me, saying that they were interested in going, and I was hooked. All of us signed up for the workshop.

Knowing so little about quilting, I headed out to the store to purchase the quilting book and the fabric. Believe me, the clerk had her hands full as she led me step by step through what I needed. I tend to have a quiet personality, so I stuck to the quiet pinks and blues and mixed pastels. However, when I arrived at the workshop to see the colours that the others had chosen, I couldn't get over the wonderful mixtures of bright, loud colours. Wow! I would never have been able to choose those colours, and I wondered what their quilts would look like.

All of us were basically working with the same pattern but because we had all chosen different colours, all our quilts looked very different. I quickly began to wish that I had been more daring with my colours and had chosen some brighter colours. But what was amazing was that those who had chosen the bright, bold colours were stopping by my table and were admiring my soft, pastel colours, and saying, "Oh, your colours are so beautiful! I never seem to choose those soft colours."

God gifted us with so much when he gave us colour. Imagine what our world would be like without colour. As I thought about my quilt and their quilts, I began to realize the colours in all of us. Some of us might be quiet and soft like my pastel colours and some of us may be more daring like those who chose the bright colours, but when you put all the colours together, they blend and create a beautiful quilt. With all the colours that I saw at that workshop, there were no two colours that did not blend together. They all looked great. So it is with us. We have all been made by a wonderful Creator. How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you have made them all!

Prayer: Great and loving Creator, we give you all thanks and praise for the variety of your creation. May we learn to appreciate the many colours of your creation in and around us. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.