God's Quilts

Although Missionary Work is quite a new life in comparison to our lives before the Mission, there are some things that did not change drastically...

We still sleep in beds.

We still like to laugh.

We still get grumpy.

And we eat three meals a day.

However, dinner is a bit different.
DINNER...
Depending on where the Missionary is serving, dinner is often eaten with various members of the church or people that are being taught.

Different faces.

Different tables.

Different foods.

And different homes.
EXPERIENCES...
That is something that a Mission never lacks. We recently ate with a member who we discovered LOVES to quilt. Her house is full of beautiful quilts all carefully made by her hand. The Quilting Room contains an abundance of unique quilt squares all waiting to be put together into another one of her creations. Fabrics line the walls and needles and thread cover the tables. Hours are spent here.
Cutting, Stitching, Piecing and Pulling,
Re-stitching, Snipping, Sewing and Threading.

We ourselves are not so far from these quilts and our lives are not so far from this quilt room.
The quilting pattern comes as we go.
It is intricately made and designed specifically by our Father in Heaven.

God.

The Master Quilter.

He has given us a doctrine, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, by which we can create quilts made by his divine hand.

FAITH 

Though we cannot yet see the finished product, we must trust that God's pattern is better than our own or that of the world. We must have faith in his son Jesus Christ and that through his sacrifice for us, all the mistakes that we make can be totally removed. We must trust enough to start the quilt and continue to sew.

REPENTANCE

We must back track when we make a mistake. Take out the stitches and let Christ remove the damage that was done. We then apologize for the mistake and try to change the way we are doing things so that the mistake is not made again. BUT, if it is made again....

There is ALWAYS another chance for repentance. Christ's sacrifice is infinite.

BAPTISM

We promise God that we are really going to work at this. We promise to follow the patterns (or commandments) which he has given us and always remember His Son.

HOLY GHOST

God gives us the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, a spirit and third member of the God head who is often compared to our conscience, to be an extra tool and guide as we are forming our quilt. We must listen for it and pray to have him with us. If we are not in places or doing things that help us to feel close to God, then we cannot have the guidance. The more we work with him, the better we become at quilt making.

ENDURING TO THE END

We continue to press forward. As we see the steps working, as we see the quilt forming, we develop more faith, we continue to repent, we keep our promises to God and obey his commandments, and we listen to the Holy Ghost.

Each of our patches is unique and formed through experiences, people, challenges...God will sometimes tell us to push and pull in places that hurt. Then after, we realize the beauty of what we have created. Satan will try to rip out the stitches, but through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can over come all of his efforts. This is HOW.

This is HOW we can return to our Father in Heaven and HOW we can have ETERNAL JOY. It really works. 

TRY IT. 

Let God be your Quilt Maker.