Quilting An Obedient Life

I have been quilting lately and as I work in my craft room with quiet music playing in the background I have time to think. This week while piecing quilt blocks together I’ve meditated on the thought that we are very much like a quilt.

The pieces of our lives, those good and bad experiences, God works together to create something beautiful. We all know the truth of Romans 8:28:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

There is comfort in knowing that He has an overall plan and whatever we go through in life, He will work it for good.

There is a second truth that struck me as I was quilting. You may not know this, but quilting requires a lot of decision making. You have to choose types of material, colors, patterns, dimensions, tools, threads, finishing techniques, etc. A casual observer may recognize a beautiful quilt, but until you begin to make one yourself, you’ll never know the myriad of decisions that went into making it so.

As a young youth pastor’s wife I once gave a devotion to our high school girls on Philippians 2:12.
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

McArthur Study Bible says: The Greek verb rendered “work out” means “to continually work to bring something to fulfillment or completion.” It cannot refer to salvation by works, but it does refer to the believer’s responsibility for active pursuit of obedience in the process of sanctification. (with fear and trembling: It involves a healthy fear of offending God and a righteous awe and respect for Him.)

To give the girls a visual demonstration of what this verse means, we talked about our choices as being like a tapestry. We proceeded to make small cross stitch items to remember what we had learned.

Just as I have choices in quilting a blanket, I also have choices to make regarding my obedience to the Lord. What will my salvation look like today? Will it be something beautiful or a thrown together mess. I’m sure my “blanket” includes many examples of both types of experiences! The good news is that He works them all into something beautiful in the end.

My desire is to be a willing partner in making a life that is pleasing to Him.

How is your blanket looking?