Thursday, April 7, 2011

Spirit of Generosity

I said in the previous post, I would tell more of the quilt story.  God’s involvement didn’t end when the quilt was finished.

There were some special ladies I wanted to see the quilt.  I called one of them and invited myself over and asked if I could invite another lady over too.  SHE WAS ALREADY THERE.  I kept them in suspense until I arrived.

We were standing/sitting around the living room looking at the quilt.  I was explaining to them about each square and the design and the symmetry of the whole thing.  I told how God put me and the seamstress together and His hand was on it the whole time.  It was good to talk about.  Then we realized……………each woman in the room had lost a son.  There were four of us together admiring this handiwork, not just the quilt, but the orchestration of that moment.  God is generous with His love.

I want to share some comments that were made on Facebook.

This was written to me.

Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others' joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others' grief]. Romans 12:15

How awesome to rejoice with you yesterday, friend. How amazing it was that you showed the quilt to us yesterday and all four women present have sons who have died. AND...we all experienced God's grace to rejoice to...gether.

Thank you for sharing the joy and the journey with us!

P.S. Jenny, I've never met you, but I wanted you to know your creative gift from God ministered to all of us as we marveled at Peyton's quilt.

This was Jenny’s (the seamstress) comment to the one above.

Wow, that's all I can say. I never dreamed that God would use this quilt in such a way. Our God is an Awesome God alright!

I had named the photo album on Facebook – PDJ Memory Quilt – stitched with love by Jenny. This is Jenny’s comment on the album.

Becky, It was MOST DEFINITELY made with love, every single stitch! I can't explain what an honor it was that you asked me to do this. (tears are flowing :) Whether you realize it or not, God was using you the whole time I was working on this, inspiring me by your walk, your strength, and your love for Him. I just thought you should know that. God Bless you and Tom and thank you again!

She is thanking me?!?!?  That is a generous spirit.

Every time we have shown the quilt, people have thanked us for showing it to them.  That is generosity.  It humbles me.  I am grateful they want to see it and am happy to share it with them.

I love how God uses us all to be a blessing to one another.  That is what the Body of Christ should be about, supporting, loving and using our gifts to build up one another.

I hope sharing this experience has encouraged you today.  Use your God given gifts generously. 

Thanks for reading :)

p.s. for those who’ve asked – I plan on keeping the quilt on the quilt rack in the living room so I can grab it and cover up whenever I need to ;)

3 comments:

Jessica said...

Love this!! The quilt is beautiful!! I'm happy it turned out so nice and happy that I got to see it too!!

Kelley said...

I love it! How precious is Jenny!

Jennifer said...

Oh, goodness - it is definitely a process...but, yes, we are learning and progressing - and God is shaping all along the way.

Thanks for reading my post - seems "appropriate" somehow that you were first to read it and comment. I didn't want to be overly negative but I really want to express my heart. So glad God has put people all along the path that understand a mother's grieving heart!

Hope you had a special weekend. Happy (belated) Easter...resurrection day!! Hugs -Jennifer