The Quilt

by Lilly Lewin,

One of my Spiritual practices is to let Jesus speak to me through everyday items. I look at something and let Jesus inspire me and then use the item as a springboard for prayer.

Quilts
Pieces of fabric sewn with love
Needles and thread
Mended party dresses
New calicos
leftovers
and hand me downs
All together

Colors woven
Patterns set
Stitches made in community
Or alone
In prayer
Stitches sewn in hope
And promise
Quilts
Sewn in love

What are the quilts in your life?
How do they reflect your life story… baby quilts, old quilts, new quilts, etc.
I had one in greens and yellows, made from faded old cotton set out in the pattern of a fan. It was from my great-grandmother. I used it for years for picnics, as a table cloth, and on my bed. It was a symbol of love and hospitality.

The quilt in the photo above was made by my good friend and college roommate, Lynn Stock… another creation of love that was an unexpected gift of abundance, grace, and beauty.
I have a tapestry quilt with a beautiful wild goose quilted on it representing the Holy Spirit.
I have a crazy quilt that has never been finished… it’s just the top of the quilt but it is ancient, even older than my great-grandmother’s. This quilt is pieced with velvet, silks, and embroidered animals. I’ve often wondered about the life of the woman or women who made this one. They took the time to make the small pieces of fabric scraps come together into a beautiful piece of art.

What do you see in a quilt?
How can your relationship with Jesus be compared to a patchwork quilt?
How is Jesus piecing you together?

Consider all the pieces of your life
All the pieces of these past 18 months…
What is Jesus sewing together?
What is Jesus mending?
What still needs work?
Who else helps you stay connected?
Take time to be thankful for them.

What squares need rearranging?
Are you feeling quilted into a whole or still just in blocks or pieces?

How do you need a quilt of love to surround you right now?
Tell Jesus what you need.

Read Psalm 139 and let the Holy Spirit speak to you!

Psalm 139 (New Living Translation)
1O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
5You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

7I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,a you are there.
9If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

13You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

17How precious are your thoughts about me,b O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

19O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

What does your quilt look like?
Can you accept it as a quilt of love?

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