When Life gives you scraps....

I’ve been quilting a bunch today. It’s what I like to do in the winter months when it’s too cold and blowy to garden. That and scrapbook. I’m a part of this block of the month quilt club. Well, I thought it was a block a month, turns out its usually 4 or 5 blocks a month. And to top it off, I was indecisive about which color scheme to choose, the modern colors or the more traditionally, so I chose both. Now I’ve gone from 1 block a month, to 8, even 10. Why do I do this to myself? It’s something I love to do, but then I end up in overkill, and the perfectionist in me won’t let go.

Here’s the irony: I love quilting and similarly scrapbooking because of the boundaries. I usually limit myself to 3-5 colors. Might have 4-5 patterns of each color, but there is still a limit. Then there are size constraints. A quilt block or a scrap page at 12 x 12 inches is an easy finish for me. I can start and finish one in a day if all the planets align. (As a mom of three, a business owner (2 business in fact), a crazy work schedule for my husband, and one who takes seriously her call to be a minister to all, there’s not a lot of hang time.) I want to see a finished product once in a while. I’m not even thinking about the finish quilt on a bed or a whole years album done, just a single block or page.

I’m seeing some parallels here, in my approach to crafting and life. Bite off a whole lot more than you can truly handle. Then step by step, scrap by scrap, find a small accomplishment. Enjoy the process of colors and chaos. Every once in a while step back, admire where you're at, make a brief plan and keep trudging through. My challenge is to know that it’s not my great artistic ability or my amazing organizational ability that pulls the whole thing together. It’s finding and relying on boundaries. If I start throwing in a different color in each block, the chaos becomes overwhelming and the patterns get lost.

In life, it’s learning the boundaries that God has given me. Like recognizing when my body needs iron, or my spirit needs quiet or my family needs “just us” time. I need to rely on God’s boundaries while I come through each crisis with a friend, all the scraps of her life that just got jumbled up….Maybe I will even get to help her put them back in order, in the pattern God has in mind. Through stitches of prayer help her hold it together. I need God-eyes for both of us see the joy in the process. (That is so easily said, harder to do.) Sometimes, after much time, I get see the final product of that block in her life. Hang around longer, maybe we’ll see the whole life quilt together. Life blocks sure take a lot longer than those fabric 12 x 12 blocks. (I’m sure there is some great lesson about patience in there!)

Maybe today’s boundary is to rest and enjoy my quilting. Speaking of which, I’ve got 7 more blocks to finish.