by Raeleen Whip
A ‘journey of a million stitches begins with a single loop’
One thing I love about winter is huddling under this ‘quilt of many colours that my mamma made for me’, not made from rags, #dollyparton #coatofmanycolours, but from thousands of wool loops pulled, poked and looped together with a little metal hook until one day, a masterpiece was here.
Often people tag their handmade creations “made with love”. This masterwork required a willing and large love, skill, a dogged determination and vision of what could be and these are some of the qualities that often exemplify my mother. She is a long-time follower of Christ and is it any wonder then, that the marks of who He is, are displayed in she, His beloved child. The gift of herself and her love for me is the thing that sets this quilt apart and this is woven into all of the colourful stiches. They must be a gift because if it needed to be earned, then I could never repay what I would surely owe.
That’s why it reminds me of her Father God. My Father God.
The bible tells us in Psalm 139:13 & 15 For you did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret (intricately and curiously wrought, as if embroidered with various colours in the depths of the earth (a region of darkness and mystery).
Job of old also understood this when he said “you have clothed me with skin and flesh and have knit me together with bones and sinews.”
When the God of the universe, the uncreated creator, planned His unparalleled tour de force at the brink of time as we know it, He was already thinking about creating and loving you and me. He alone had and has the unlimiting power to see what could be. When we accept the gift of salvation through the death of His dear Son Jesus Christ, we come into a personal living relationship of salvation and grace with Father God. His Holy Spirit comes to live in us and with the Spirits help, God begins to weave His love and character into every single stitch of our being.
Father God, Son and Holy Spirit have and always will love us with an extravagant and enduring love. It is fadeless, matchless, passionate, dogged, persistent, almost unbelievable at times. When we truly get a glimpse of this, our tendency is to try and earn this love, work for it because we have a sense that it is an unfair kind of love. We must owe something. What kind of love sacrifices their all, to make a way for a rebellious one to become a child of the King. This is not fair. No dearheart, this kind of love cannot be earned or paid for, because it was and is there, always. God does not dispense love,
God is love.
I was having a little message chat with my mother and the quilt story came up. She said “I’m so grateful He doesn’t put us down and walk away. Now who can testify to that certain basket or shelf in the craft cupboard burgeoning with UFO’s. Any creative knows that has nothing to with aliens but everything to do with UnFinished Objects. I see that hand!!!
Okay, confession time. Who of you have ever started a project with all joy and heart fuelled determination to see it through this time, only to find after some difficulties arise, the only use for your creativity is to now justify why cleaning the stove, the fridge, writing that letter to your distant cousin and washing your hair needs to take urgent priority over the “project” currently in hand.
How does that 80”s song go??? “I’m guilty, guilty as a girl can be”
Thankfully, God does not have a craft cupboard crammed with long forgotten UFO’s. Yes, it feels like that’s exactly what we are sometimes, and I wonder if that is because His “projects” have a mind and will of their own, which complicate matters. In addition, God is not in a hurry to complete His works of love. He takes His time and works at the right time. He crafts, He molds, He waits, He observes, He cuts bits off that do not fit with His image of beauty. Unlike us who can only see the immediate, His vision is far reaching, and He perceives what could be, and slowly but surely works toward that end.
Phillipians 1:6 assures us of this with an amazing promise. "And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ (right up to the time of His return), developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you".
He will never give up on us. He is always working. This is His promise. He can be trusted to keep His promises. Only an enduring, sacrificial, far seeing, unearnable, determined, extravagant, eternal love works on a project with this kind of persistence and vision.
My quilt tells me about this kind of love. I thank God for my Mum and her persistent love for us all. But I know she would have me above all else, know that I am loved eternally by my Father in heaven. I know that He has the will and ableness to work in you and me stitches of who He is until one day, we will stand before Him in the perfection of His Son Jesus and will finally become the vision He foreknew of us when we were yet in the mysterious place.
A personal masterpiece awaits for any and all in that kind of love. Just receive the gift of salvation through Jesus and then the work begins. . .
One loop and stitch at a time.
Raeleen is a country gal, living in Longreach. She does life with a husband who loves God and perseveres in all things, two soft-souled sons, a most gracious and lovely daughter in law, two hilarious grandchildren, a wonderful church family and community. She loves creativity in most forms, but has a special bent towards photography, pottery, writing short stories and blending photos, fonts and bible verses. What I find myself wanting to do, is to persuade people to shift out of dark places in mind or soul into the light of God's truth and the love of His people where there can be found one of my favourite God words... Freedom... God has invited me to be a part of the leadership and women's ministry team at my local Baptist Church in Longreach.
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