July 10, 2006


Finally, the Rest of the Story


In my last Pastor’s Wife of May 8th, I promised I would be back soon with the rest of the story about my “miracle” quilt.  Well, my promised “soon” has been delayed by a broken leg … a story, blessing and lessons learned that will be shared in another PW’s , dare I say, “soon.”  I will just say for now that the breaks (3) are tiny and healing well, I’m nearly pain free and doing very well.  But, enough of that for now.

The Quilt, Page 2.  As I said before, the love gift of the quilt would be blessing enough, but when Jane began to describe what she found when she took the quilt out of its box – well that’s where the story really begins.  Those hundreds of pins I mentioned that were holding the layers of the quilt together all rusted into the quilt fabric – some to the point that it required needle-nosed pliers to get them out.  In addition, in one spot, perhaps some dampness seeping into the box resulted in a large, very dark rust stain along one side of the quilt. 

To most people it would have looked hopeless, returned it to Den and said, “We’re sorry, but the damage is just too great.”  But not our Jane!  She took a good look, gasped and said, “Someone can fix this – I just have to find them!”  And so began her search!  Through a series of phone calls, sewing shop stops and referrals, she was directed to a lady who specializes in restoring quilts! 

This gifted artisan, Nancy Haney of Arlington Heights, examined the quilt, was impressed with the work already done and with a passion to restore “my” quilt and not remake it to be one of her own, she went to work!  Two weeks later, not the two months Jane had allotted, and within the budget that Jane and Julie had established, Nancy called and said the quilt was finished!  Jane picked it up, and on examination discovered almost all the rust stains were completely gone and the few little marks left were negligible; and the large stain on the side had only a small, light yellow place left that you had to know was there to see. 

Jane discovered that Nancy, because of her sewing machine capabilities, was able to match her machine stitch to my hand stitching and complete the quilting by machine but made to look exactly like the section I had done by hand!  All of that is certainly nothing short of a miracle!  Nancy reported to Jane that she used bottles of a rust stain remover and then soaked the quilt for a week in Oxy Clean!  What a testimony to the wonders of modern stain removal agents, but also to the patience and hard work of a real craftsman, whose passion for restoration led to such a  beautiful result.  And that is the quilt Jane and Julie presented me with that Sunday morning at church!

After hearing their story and examining the quilt more carefully when we got home, suddenly the spiritual lessons began to bubble in my spirit and heart.  Lessons of God’s patience with us to remove the stains of sin that we acquire and let lay dormant, perhaps hidden in a “box” in our heart for years and never given much thought and certainly never
recognized and brought to light.  But when that “box” is finally opened, the horridness of the stains of our un-repented sins is blatant for all to see.  But just as Nancy Haney knew the agents to put to use to clean my quilt, the Author and Finisher of my faith also knows the agent to clean my heart – the blood of Jesus!  And just as Nancy’s stain remover
and Oxy Clean removed the stains and made my quilt brilliantly white and the colors beautifully vibrant, the blood of Christ will wash away my sin and make my stained heart as white as wool and without spot or blemish.  Praise the Lord!! 

But just as I examined and saw the few little spots that remain on my quilt, along with the slight yellow stain on the side, I am also reminded that though God completely forgives and then forgets my repented sins, He also sometimes leaves little spots in our lives, hearts and spirits to remind us of His grace; a reminder that sometimes sin, even forgiven sins, leaves consequences that we must continue to address.  But what is left is not a distraction to the beauty of the “quilt” of my life, but rather just little marks to remind me of what God has done.   How I praise Him that that reminder now lays atop my bed for me to see
multiple times a day and as a work of art to visitors in our home to enjoy.

Another lesson here.  When our forgiven and spotless lives are laid out before God and all heaven to see, is perhaps He not as excited about viewing that “masterpiece” of His mercy and grace as I am of viewing my quilt?  Is He perhaps not just as thrilled to show His handiwork off to the angels and heavenly hosts as I am to share my quilt with visitors
to our home?  In Ephesians, Paul tells us that ... (3:7) in order that in the coming ages he might show (to himself) the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Well Dear Ones, that’s the rest of my quilt story, but how thankful I am that it’s not the end of the rest of the story of God’s mercy and  grace in my life.  More of those new lessons to follow.


Until next time … love and prayers,

RuthAnn Gleason, the Parson's Wife
ragleason123@yahoo.com