July 22, 2023 - The Gift

     I’ve been rather pointed that I have my mother’s DNA when it comes to wanting to be the giver rather than the receiver.  These last several months have taught me considerably about that and continue to do so.
     I have received lots of different gifts over the years.  Some of them from childhood I can still remember.  Most from my adult life I don’t remember. 
     People’s expressions of love during these last seven months have been overwhelming. 
     A call, a text, a card, or an email at just the right time.
     Monetary gifts that have blessed us though we don’t deserve them.
     Only heaven knows of the gifts of prayer.
     Two of you have given part of your lives to travel to or from Rochester.  Two more of you plan to bring Teresa when she needs to come before the transplant.
     We have specific reminders sitting around our house of the support we have received in this.
     However, this week I received a gift that did something that no other gift has been able to do.  It left me speechless.
     We opened a package from Teresa’s first cousin, Pam.  We have had a relationship with Pam over the years.  She’s a great heart as is evident by the gift she sent me.  She started watching Daybreak worship online during Covid and we felt more connected with her.
     I opened the package and it was a handmaid quilt, a fishing quilt, if you will.  She knew of my love for fishing for fish, but an even greater love to be fishing for souls.
     The front part of the quilt has patterns of fish.  Sewn on the back are scripture verses.  Here’s a few of them:
 
     “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
     “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9
     “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”  Psalm 28:7

     My grandmothers were quilters.  I watched them work on quilts for what seemed like forever when I was a boy.
     I know it had to take Pam weeks to complete this gift.  I still don’t have the words to express what her gift of love means to Teresa and me.   
     I have lots of fish related stuff.  The fish quilt tops them all.
     The next question is, “What do I do with the quilt?”  Do I hang it on the wall as a constant reminder of how much we are loved, not just by Pam, but by so many others? 
     Or do I take it with us when we head to Rochester for the transplant?  All kids in crisis need a blanket which they can hold!
     Honestly, I am beginning to feel some of the weight of the looming transplant.  There is something about seeing the schedule in black and white that brings to reality what lies ahead.
     Pam’s note in the card that came with the quilt said, “I wanted to make something that is a physical item that can represent the prayers that cover you and Teresa during this time.” 
     That quilt might just find a spot in the car when I head to Rochester.  It will remind me that we are being covered in prayer.
     Paul calls Jesus the indescribable gift in his letter to the Corinthians.   That Jesus is.  How can we describe the love that God has for us by sending His Son into this world to die on the Cross at Calvary.
      We can’t. 
      I can’t even describe the love so many of you have for us.