Her name is Beulah...Beulah Bertha Johnson-Smith.
She was the thread that held our family together.
Grandma went to be with the Lord in 1974. Just two short years after her mother.
After her passing, I was given a bag of quilt blocks that she had hand-stitched.
Her eyesight was failing at that time so her stitches were not perfect...like they once were. They were uneven and loosely stitched...but they were stitched with love...and the quilt...that they would eventually be turned into...would keep someone warm at night.
Each piece had its own story to tell...because each piece was cut from clothing that someone had either outgrown...or was too worn to wear any longer.
My first thought was to make them into a quilt...finish a task that she had so loving worked on for months. However, after inspecting the pieces, I was faced with two options...go over all of her hand stitching and reinforce them...or put the quilt together knowing that it would not last.
Somehow, I couldn't get myself to do either. And so....they sat in the bag...in my cedar chest for years.
Occasionally, I would take them out and look at the stitches she had so lovingly sewn and then put them back into the bag...and store them away. But somehow, I knew that this was not their purpose. What that purpose was...I was still not sure.
Until...one day when I ran across a beautiful poem.
Families are like quilts~ Lives pieced and stitched together, Colored by happiness and tears, Bound by memories and love, Cherished throughout the years.
I knew instantly what the pieces were to be used for...their purpose...the reason that they were given to me.
I created frames for each of my siblings and several of my cousins and I framed one quilt block for each of them.
Her stitching is still intact, her handiwork is still there, the pieces of fabric used to make each piece...tell stories of their own...and grandma is still the thread that holds her family together.
My grandmother stitched the quilt blocks together...with a purpose in mind...but God had an even greater purpose.
I could have kept the pieces, made them into a quilt that I loved and cherished...but I knew that this was not their purpose.
So I held them close, cherished them and then...when the time was right, I let them go.
By doing so, the quilt reached far more people than they would have...simply stretched out across my bed.
Moral? Serve where God has planted you...teach, learn, grow, give it your all...serve the purpose that God has set before you.
But don't be scared if God picks you up, stores you away for a while, and then plants you in a new place...a new purpose.
When God moves you, It doesn't mean that He is finished with you...It just means that He is preparing something new for you...a new purpose...one that may reach far more people than you could ever imagine.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Have a blessed day!
I have been praying for each of you.
Don't forget to take some time for YOU!
YOU are important!