As I faced my Maker at
the last judgment, I knelt
before the Lord along with
Before each of us laid our
lives like the squares of a
quilt in many piles: an angel
sat before each of us
sewing our quilt squares
together into a tapestry
But as my angel took each
piece of cloth off the pile, I
noticed how ragged and
empty each of my squares
were. They were filled with
giant holes. Each square
was labeled with a part of
my life that had been
difficult, the challenges and
temptations I was faced
with in every day life. I saw
hardships that I endured,
which were the largest
I glanced around me.
Nobody else had such
squares. Other than a tiny
hole here and there, the
other tapestries were filled
with rich color and the
bright hues of worldly
fortune. I gazed upon my
own life and was
My angel was sewing the
ragged pieces of cloth
together, threadbare and
empty, like binding air...
Finally the time came when
each life was to be
displayed, held up to the
light, the scrutiny of truth.
The others rose; each in
turn, holding up
their tapestries. So filled
their lives had been. My
angel looked upon me, and
My gaze dropped to the
ground in shame. I hadn't
had all the earthly fortunes.
I had love in my life, and
laughter. But there had
also been trials of illness,
and wealth, and false
accusations that took from
me my world, as I knew it. I
had to start over many
times. I often struggled with
the temptation to quit, only
to somehow muster the
strength to pick up and
begin again. I spent many
nights on my knees in
prayer, asking for help and
guidance in my life. I had
often been held up to
ridicule, which I endured
painfully, each time
offering it up to the Father
in hopes that I would not
melt within my skin
beneath the judgmental
gaze of those who unfairly
And now, I had to face the
truth. My life was what it
was, and I had to accept it
I rose and slowly lifted the
combined squares of my
life to the light. An awe-
filled gasp filled the air. I
gazed around at the others
who stared at me with wide
Then, I looked upon the
tapestry before me. Light
flooded the many holes,
creating an image, the face
of Christ. Then our Lord
stood before me, with
warmth and love in His
eyes. He said, 'Every time
you gave over your life to
Me, it became My life, My
hardships, and My
Each point of light in your
life is when you stepped
aside and let Me shine
through, until there was
more of Me than there was
May all our quilts be
threadbare and worn,
allowing Christ to shine
through!
(From an email I received a few weeks ago - author unknown.)
Thank you to Charlotte and Ginger for bringing us Spiritual Sundays.
I'm halfway done and decided I needed to take some pictures of me actually doing some work! :) You can see my reflection in the glass of the storm door wearing my white painter's cap. See that ladder? It is 11 years old and looks brand new - does that tell you something?
I've got all the blue tape around the trim and I've put the primer on and am getting ready to put on the exterior coat. The primer took about an hour to dry (so I went in and had lunch while I waited for it to dry) as it is the perfect day for painting...no humidity and about 70 degrees.
Coming down the side of the door...very time consuming as it is a very narrow piece of trim. This is the second and final coat. It's looking pretty good!
I even painted the white mounting wood under the light fixture - hey, as long as I was up on that ladder! While I was on the ladder, I noticed the ceiling was getting pretty dusty...oh well, a job for another day!
During the afternoons we have free time and there are many things for us to do. There are two lakes and an olympic sized pool, a gym, a weight room, one of the councilors is also the resident bird watcher and you can meet Ken at 7:15 every morning to go out bird watching...I took a pass on that! I did, however, sign up for the crafts room every day after lunch.
