The Quilt

-


It was a beautiful, thoughtful, loving gift. I was overwhelmed when Jo gave it to me. She had hand worked the quilt incorporating colours, flowers, various fabrics chosen with care to remind me of shared memories and above all love.  Initially I had no idea what to do with it.  Sure, I showed it to friends, I valued it but frankly at the time it just didn’t fit any room or colour scheme. The beautiful quilt stayed folded up. It silently challenged me whenever I looked at it. Until, I began to incorporate it into my life. I painted the walls, changed the colour scheme, rearranged furniture and spread the quilt on the bed, fully embracing the gift.

How like God’s gifts to us.  God gives us gifts, beautiful, thoughtful, valuable gifts. As John 1:16 puts it “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” (NLT) We receive them, are awed by them, even say thank you and yet leave them folded up, unused in the corner of our lives, silently challenging us asking, "what are you going to do with me?"

With God, accepting the gift means accepting the giver too – that’s what salvation demands. Yes, it is a gift graciously and freely given, but to truly receive it requires you to accept the Giver and adjust your life to His.  A sobering, scary, yet thrilling thought.

Imagine for a moment how disconcerting it must have been for both Elizabeth and Mary to discover they were with child.  What a gift!  Amazing, incredible, wonderful…scary!  God’s gracious gift required ADJUSTMENT.  What a life changing gift.

Even when Jesus healed people, such a miraculous gift, but now that they were healed a completely different life opened up before them. A lame man was required to walk AND carry his bed. That’s an adjustment – but what a gift!   

What gift have you been given that is sitting still wrapped up, waiting for you to examine, adjust and embrace?  Is it time? A promise from God? A talent or skill you set aside?

When you remember that the gift has been motivated by great love, any adjustment required becomes immaterial. No wonder, the other Mary, poured out her most expensive perfume all over Jesus to say thanks.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!  - 2  Corinthians 9:15











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  Why Anchoring? It began with a phone call. “Do you have anything on stress?  I am finding many people are coming to me saying how stressed they are, how full of anxiety and fear.  They feel their life is out of control and not sure if they can handle anything more.  It seems post-covid stress is worse than the stress we all felt during covid.  Would you be able to speak into that?” I wasn’t sure whether to laugh hysterically, cry, or stare speechless at the phone.   Anything on stress? I had just staggered my way through one of the most stressful seasons of my life on the back of the covid pandemic.   Did I have something to say, to help people navigate stress?   The internal bruising of my recent experience was still raw. “Yes, I have something to say about stress,” I replied cautiously.   “Don’t just teach them about stress, we know what stress is, can you give them some tools, some pointers to coping with stress, anxiety and fear?”...
Read more

The Guide

-
Image
 Like many in this lockdown, I have been watching the Paralympics. Marvelling at how men and women have overcome limitations and difficulties to bring the same disciplines, co-ordination, and competitiveness to the sports arena.  It has been compelling viewing.  The image that most connected with me, however, is that of the runners with sight impairment competing with their guides. What impressed me is how the guides disciplined themselves to assist and run at the same pace as those they are looking after. They are truly their eyes but they do it in such away as their athlete gets the glory. They restrain their pace to match theirs – step by step and they hang back just as the runner crosses the line.  They train as hard, they endure as much, they no doubt experience the same nerves and maybe have another dimension of nervousness on them – they don’t want to stuff up and let their runner down!  What a great illustration of humility and servanthood.  I love ...
Read more

Living Yes

-
Image
'You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.' [Matt 6:9-13 - The Message] “I did answer Yes, ” wrote Dag Hammarskjold in his private journal, “Markings” on New Year's day 1953.   “ For all that has been – Thanks!  To all that shall be – Yes! ”   (a) Who was he saying yes to?   Yes to God and yes to whatever that commitment meant as he lived life and all the challenges that came his way. That life included a season of intense personal darkness from which emerged his first statement to say yes, and later into a very public role as the United Nations Secretary-General 1955-1961. It was a role that would require great courage as he negotiated peace in China, the Suez Crisis and in the Congo where he died in a plane crash. His journal revealed that each year, he said yes.   He lived “yes”.   A yes, that said, “Not I, but God in me.” When I first read this account of Dag Hammarskjold, I didn’t appreciate the depth o...
Read more