A Grandmother's Stitches

~ A Grandmother's Stitches~

In honor of Clara Beaty, who entered the pearly gates on 11-28-2012.

Years ago I sat as an excited girl with carefully selected fabric, thimble and thread eager to master the art of quilting. I will never forget sitting on that floral couch and intently listening to Granny as she handed down her knowledge one stitch at a time. I watched her delicate, soft hands with years of sewing captured in her swollen joints make each stitch with ease and perfection. "Make every stitch small" she would say as she handed the fabric to me. She would carefully monitor my stitches, stressing "your quilt should be as pretty on the bottom as it is on the top." For hours, we would share the needle and thread as we passed the fabric between our hands.

As I reflect on my life, there are many stitches that are connected to the threads of my grandparents......countless fried apple pies, biscuits and strawberry freezer jam, and apple stack cake. Playing in the large shrub at the side of the house, kick the can, apples drying on racks in the backyard, riding Blacky the cow, breaking beans on the front porch, trying to sneak upstairs, playing in the creek, hugging papa and smelling a sweet mix of cedar and tobacco, a Bible always to the left of the couch, a silver Christmas tree, standing at the edge of the garden watching Granny and Papa work the fertile earth, sitting around the kitchen table bowing our heads to bless the meal, riding in the red chevy truck, sittng on the porch swing admiring the rainbow of colors that danced in the flower beds, sittng under the quilt frame in the living room watching months of tiny stitches become a masterpiece.

In the past few weeks, I have begun to work on my quilt again. The emotion of gratitude overwhelms me to tears as I look at the sweet stitches made by the hands of generations. I am thankful for a tangible reminder. The life threads I have been taught are to work with eager hands, provide food for my family, to set about my work vigorously and be strong for my tasks, to watch over my home with contentment and to help the needy. As I look at the quilt of my grandmother's life I see the colors of strength and dignity. I can recognize the patterns of wisdom and faithful instruction and I am in awe of the Master Quilter's handiwork. If you look closely at the stitches you will see His signature, it reads "her children have risen and called her blessed."

I pray as I continue to add stitches, colors and patterns to my life quilt that I will trust the Master Quilter with the needle and thread. My quilt will look different than my grandmother's, after all each one is unique, but His signature is undeniable. Only by His loving grace, may my quilt read:

"Many women have done noble things,

but like the generations of women before you,

you have surpassed them all."