Unfinished Projects

 "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." 
Philippians 1:6 NKJV

Unfinished Place Mat

It's fair season and I've been working like a machine, trying to get projects completed in time to enter in the fairs. There's the local fair in the town I live in, plus a couple of other fairs in nearby smaller communities. Three fairs, and because the one in town, which is a 5-day fair, overlaps the other two., which are one day fairs, anything I entered in the one in town could not be entered in either of the other two. And while I had quite a few projects finished, and while many of the entries in the smaller two fairs could be duplicates, there were still classes for which I wanted to make projects. And so I was making, and making. And I got down to the wire for making projects for the final fair and I just couldn't do it. Insomnia is a serious problem for me and while I sometimes do end up working on projects in the middle of the night because I'm wide awake anyway, I don't want to plan to do it deliberately. So I gave myself permission to not enter every class that I wanted to. As it was, I had 19 entries in the fair in town, and 18 each in the other two. 
And I have some unfinished projects left over. In addition to the above place mats (a set of four), I began an applique pillow cover and a wall hanging, with plans to also make a tree skirt. But I have a lot more unfinished projects than that. We call them UFOs in the crafting world, which stands for unfinished objects. Also WIPs for works in progress (I loosely define the difference by whether or not I've worked on the project in the last year. If I have, then it's a WIP. If I haven't it's a UFO). I do plan to finish them all eventually, if the Lord tarries, and I live long enough. I don't like unfinished projects. But I also get bored/distracted easily and move onto something new. It's a fault, I know (though recently my daughter and I were discussing our and my grandson's symptoms of ADHD/ADD, so that could be the issue). So, it takes self-discipline to see a project through to the end. And though I'm generally quite pleased with the final results and happy to have a project finished, it's getting there that is the challenge.
We are all works in progress. In the pressure cooker of life, God is working on developing our character, if we allow Him to, and making us better people, more like Him. But, unlike me, God doesn't get bored or distracted. As long as we cooperate by surrendering to Him, we will never become unfinished objects, neglected in a dusty corner somewhere. And like some of my projects that involve meticulous, painstaking work, there may sometimes appear to be little progress in our lives. But some tasks require more time and patience. And, as the opening Bible verse states,  "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." That's a promise! He will continue to work in our lives, as long as we allow Him to, so that we will be ready to meet Him when Jesus comes again!

He Knows My Name!

"What’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet

But if your name is Rose, and someone calls you Daisy, would you reply? And if that person persists in calling you Daisy, would you not get annoyed? Shirley is a fellow divorcee and a good friend from church. John is a widower who used to record DVDs of our church services. Our pastor had done a series and Shirley had ordered the DVDs of the whole series. Shirley, not me. When John tried to hand the series to me, I was a bit bewildered, but he insisted that I had ordered them. Then we went to the order sheet on the bulletin board to investigate. Yes, Shirley had ordered them. Not me. Shirley and I may be good friends, but we don't look anything alike. Obviously, the differences have not made an impression on John. When I first started in my nursing career, it was such an honour to be called "nurse." You would hear someone say, "Oh, the nurse will do that..." and you would beam with pride, knowing they were referring to you. Yes, I am the nurse. You would walk into a patient's room and he would say, "Nurse, could you get me something for pain?" Yes, I am the nurse. But "nurse" is not my name, and while I still consider it an incredible honour to be able to use the title nurse, it's so generic. There are literally millions of us around the world able to use that title. When I made rounds at the beginning of every shift, I always introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Laura and I'm your nurse for tonight..." But patients frequently forgot. Don't get me wrong - I'm not faulting them. When someone is sick and there are zillions of people coming and going, all wearing scrubs or uniforms of some sort, I certainly don't expect the patient to remember everyone's name. But it was always a pleasure when someone actually did. It was recognizing me as an individual. It was validating. I think that was when I first realized how meaningful it is to be called by name. Worse than the patients were some of the surgeons. Internists were pretty good at knowing us by name. And lots of interns and residents got to know us personally because we saved their bacon on more than one occasion and they spent more time on the floor than the surgeons did. On the other hand, most surgeons think they are next to God. Some even think they are God. Therefore, the name of a lowly nurse is insignificant, even if you've worked with her for years. There was one surgeon, however, who made a point to introduce himself by his first name, to each of the new nurses and learn her first name as well. And that is what he called her henceforth. He was a terrific surgeon on top of that, with a great bedside manner, so we loved him. We felt like he respected us. And he validated us as individuals. While I was married, my husband seldom called me anything. Now I'm divorced. And I took back my maiden name. Enough said. Being called by name is validating, affirming, recognizing each of us as individuals. Our name is our identity. It represents who we are. Refusing to learn someone's name, or refusing to use her name when you know it, is insulting. It's reducing that person to just a generic member of the crowd. The message is "who you are as an individual doesn't matter. You don't matter." One day, I was walking through a dementia cottage at a senior's home, where I had been the home care nurse for some time. I stopped to chat with one of the residents who was having coffee with a couple of the staff. I called her by name, having spoken with her many times previously, chatted briefly, and then went on about my business. As I walked away, I heard her ask the staff, "Who was that anyway?" That just made me laugh because that was just one of my precious demented seniors. God says, "I have called you by your name. You are mine." Isaiah 43:1 LB. What a wonderful thought to know that the God of the universe knows each one of us by name. And unlike my demented clients, He will never forget who we are. He knows everything about us and affirms His love for us by calling us by name and claims us as His own.

Never Forgotten

When I was a very young girl, my father's place of employment hosted Christmas parties for the families of their employees. The highlight of these parties was Santa calling our names and giving each of us a gift. One year I waited in vain through the interminably long list of every child's name and mine was never called. It was a bewildering and hurtful experience for a young child, and I could sense my mother's cold but silent fury that one of her children had been forgotten. She did her best to make up for it by giving me one of my gifts intended for Christmas morning as soon as we got home from the party. But it was hurtful, nonetheless. I wish I could say that that was the only time that I experienced such a thing. But unfortunately feeling forgotten, neglected, abandoned, rejected is all too common for many of us. And sometimes we carry what we've experienced with us throughout life. And we compensate in many and various ways: acting out, being ultra good, overachieving, addictions, compulsions - anything to make people acknowledge us, to affirm us, to assuage the pain. But even at the best of times and with the best of compensations, it's only a temporary relief. 

As a quilter, even if I could own every piece of fabric in the world, it may fill my house and garage and yard... but it wouldn't fill the void in my heart. I could spend all day, sun-up to sundown, seven days a week making quilts out of those fabrics, and while I would enjoy the process and the final products and the praise I received for my efforts, my heart would still be yearning for something more. And I could give all those quilts away to charitable causes and receive accolades for my generosity, but eventually the good feelings my work created would dissipate and I would have to do something more to feel good again. But nothing would ever fully satisfy my soul hunger. I need something more.

We all want to matter. And when we feel that we don't, it leads to feelings of emptiness, worthlessness and despair. Many of us have endured horrendous - and not quite so horrendous - things that contribute to these feelings. How do we get past that? How do we live with it? 

From my experience, the only answer is Jesus. Only He can truly satisfy that soul-deep hunger for meaning. And He has left such amazing promises in His word. 

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Psalm 27:10 NIV

Even if our own parents, spouse, children abandon us, Jesus never will. 

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:15, 16a NIV

I have a difficult time understanding any mother who could forget her own baby, but even though that may be possible, it is impossible for Jesus to forget us. How has He engraved us on the palms of His hands? By the nails of the cross! He will bear those scars forever, so He will never forget us.

He promised, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5 NIV

Wow, what an amazing God! Santa may forget me. My parents may neglect me, my husband reject me and my daughter abandon me, but Jesus will never leave me. With Him, I am never forgotten.

Would you like to get to know Him? One of my favourite little books that has helped me get to know Jesus better is a nice little book called Steps to Christ. This book will help you find that soul-satisfying relationship with Him. You can read it online or download the audio version of it. 

Rest

Here are a couple of the blocks I've completed this year:

On the left is Lena's Choice and on the right is the Wonky 5-sided Log Cabin. In neither of these blocks did I use any background fabric and I rather wish I had. In my opinion, they are both too busy. There is not really any place for the eye to rest. 
These blocks are kind of like how our lives can be, especially here in North America: too busy, with not enough opportunity for rest. And I'm talking about more than just physical rest. As they taught us in nursing school, humans are bio-psycho-socio-spiritual beings, so we need rest in every aspect of our being. 
Nursing can be challenging in every sphere. And while Home Care is definitely not as physically demanding as hospital nursing, it still can be very draining mentally, emotionally and spiritually. At the end of my work day, I am all "peopled out," as I like to say, and it is generally not with reluctance that I arrive home to my two cats and no people to make demands on me. I don't make or accept too many social invitations because it is important for me to have my "down time." 
Jesus Himself told His disciples, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while." Mark 6:31. I just want to point out that the word "desert" does not necessarily mean a place like the Mojave or the Sahara. It also has the connotation of "solitary." Bascially, get away from the crowd, the hustle and bustle and spend time with Jesus. This is what we need to do to rejuvenate and restore us spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, as well as physically. 
 In Home Care, we have a service called respite. We can either provide it in the home for a few hours a week or in a seniors living facility for up to 3 weeks at a time. This allows the main caregiver for the client, usually a spouse or child, to run errands, buy groceries or just take a well-earned break. It helps to avoid caregiver burnout. Yet some family members are reluctant to accept this service, feeling that they are somehow failing their loved one if they are not on call 24-7. We in Home Care can not force our help on anyone. Sometimes, we have to just let them "crash and burn," as we say. But we'd rather avoid that if possible.
We should never allow ourselves to think that the work we are doing is so important that we can't take time for rest. Jesus' disciples had just returned from their first missionary journey, during which they had been preaching the gospel, and doing all manner of good works: healing and so forth. People were still crowding around them and Jesus, still in need of healing and the gospel. What could be more important than that? Yet Jesus told them that they needed to take time out for rest.
And so do we. As a matter of fact, God recognizes our need for rest as so important that he actually included it in the 10 Commandments. He said, "Remember the Sabbath day," that we are to work 6 days and rest on the seventh (See Exodus 20:8-11). We can not possibly hope to be everything God wants us to be or accomplish all He wants us to accomplish if we don't make time for rest - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. 

And that includes letting go of burdens. For many of us, especially those of us in the care-giving professions, it is our nature to nurture, to accept responsibility, to bear burdens. We need to recognize that there are times when we need to say no and only accept the responsibilities that God has placed on our shoulders. And even the burdens that we must bear, we don't need to bear them alone. Jesus says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30. Rest for our souls - I believe that's what we all need. But we can only find it in Jesus.

 

  

 

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Here I am, enjoying some rest at our local park.

The playground and main picnic area are far enough away from the trout pond that I can enjoy some solitary peace.

So, yeah, I didn't make it to campmeeting, but I'm going to enjoy my "stay-cation" anyway and maybe get some quilting done, in addition to some other exciting things...

Crafting and Creation

 At the end of each day of creation, God observed that His work was good. And when He had completed it all, He saw that it was very good. God took joy and pleasure in His work of creating. 

July 5, 2013 - My Design Wall with 2012 BOM quilt blocks to date, plus extras

 In some small way, I believe I can understand God's joy in creating. I love to walk into my sewing room and view my design wall. When I work on a project, I enjoy the process and take pleasure in viewing the final product. Usually. Sometimes, my project doesn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Occasionally, I have to rip something out or just put up with my imperfections. There have even been times when I have felt like giving up in frustration. The instructions are not always clear. Here's a sweater I had to set aside for awhile because I couldn't figure out the directions for the sleeve. My sleeve initially ended up about 6 inches long, and that was supposed to be full-length for an adult.

UFO: Crocheted cardigan

If you look carefully, you can see the sleeve sitting on top of the body part, so I did finally figure it out and I have made some progress.
Sometimes I have too many projects on the go at once. And occasionally life, with all its necessities and crises gets in the way of my projects.

Several UFOs and WIPs

The quilting projects in this picture were all started before the death of my marriage. Then I had to focus on getting my life back together, pursuing my education and getting my career on track (not to mention moving several times, including living in a motel for a few months). Of necessity, I had to take a hiatus from hobbies. The crocheting projects are just current works in progress.
What about God? Does He make mistakes? Is He ever frustrated with His work? Does He get distracted by crises or too many projects on the go?
The Bible says that "His work is perfect." Deuteronomy 32:4. "And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31. So why is so much of His work not so very good?
Have you ever been distracted during a project by a phone call, a cat or a child? Or maybe someone has "helped" you with a project? With less-than-perfect results? That's sort of what has happened with God's creation. God didn't become distracted and He can handle multiple crises. It was all perfect, in the beginning. Not a flaw to be found. But somehow, we humans were not satisfied with His perfect plan and chose to do things our own way, refusing to follow His directions. And it looks like we've spoiled the whole quilt. 
However, the Master Designer still has a plan. He wants to fix the quilts of our lives, as well as the quilt of this earth, that we have so messed up with our foolish choices. He'll start today, if we'll let Him. But we have to choose to let Him finish the quilt. And the full, perfect project will not be seen until His Son comes back and He "makes all things new." Revelation 21:5. He promised, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." Isaiah 65:17. And one of the best promises of all, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4. And to that I say, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20.

 

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A few of my finished projects (just so you don't think that I never get anything done): 

Crocheted afghan for my grandson

Crocheted wrap with slits

Crocheted mohair/metallic wrap (cat tested and approved)

Crocheted afghan for my living room

Crocheted ruffled scarf

Quilt for my nephew Jason's wedding gift

Quilt for my nephew James' wedding gift (also cat tested and approved)