Blind but can see clearly...

Last week I wrote about “Unopened gifts from God” and the story got me thinking. (That is the point right?)

A few years ago Michele and I were in Lancaster County PA. on a little vacation. We spent one day just looking through some of the shops that featured hand-made items by people in the Amish community. One of the shops we enjoyed was a quilt shop. As we were looking around we came across a couple of quilts that really stood out. They were a little more colorful than the rest and the patterns were somewhat unusual.  As we were admiring the intricate hand stitching and wondering at the patience it took to craft something so beautiful. The shop owner came over to us to see if she could be of assistance.  We said how much we admired a particular quilt and she told us that the woman who had made it was blind.  BLIND? Really? How?

Of course, at the time we were astonished that a blind woman was able to create such beauty and a little sad that she would not be able to enjoy her creation in the same way we could. Now I am thinking a bit differently. Now I am thinking that she had received a gift from God and she opened it. I am thinking that her gift had many layers and she was much richer for peeling those layers away.

That unknown Amish woman had patience. Having sewn a few quilts, albeit with a sewing machine, I know the patience it takes to make those little pieces of fabric work together. She had fortitude. Being blind it must have been frustrating at times not to be able to see how her quilt was coming together but she kept putting those pieces together.

We never met the blind woman with the amazing talent; however, I like to think that being Amish she lived within a loving family within a caring community….all gifts from God. Since she was already older when we came across her quilts I hope she is with God now and has been rewarded by Him in heaven with the gift of sight and that she is finally able to see people enjoying her handiwork.

Gifts from God are not rare and the results are not always immediate…..we just have to recognize them, open the box and have a little patience that the pieces will come together.

God Bless You.  Marge