The Beauty of a Scrap Quilt

When I was in the 6th grade, my grandmother came to live with us. She had Alzheimer's disease and was no longer able to take care of herself. I don't really remember much about her when she was in her right mind. My mom would tell me stories about what she was like before she got sick. She had left a wonderful legacy. She was always known as a loving, soft spoken woman who never had anything bad to say about anyone.
My grandparents were farmers and they had 5 kids. My grandmother learned how to use everything at her disposal and waste nothing. She could take ordinary things and turn them into something beautiful. One of my favorite things that my grandmother made, was a scrap quilt that she had made for my mom. I guess some people call them patchwork quilts. We always called them scrap quilts. I really like that name better. This quilt was not made out of nice neat quilters squares like the ones you see today. It was obvious that this was a scrap quilt. The pieces were all different shapes, sizes, colors, and types of cloth. You could tell that the pieces had been taken from old pieces of shirts, pants, and even ties. No piece of cloth was wasted. Somehow, every scrap of clothing was used.
I loved this quilt. I use to lie on my mom's bed and run my fingers over the different pieces of material. I could just picture in my mind where each piece had come from. My grandmother, though she would never have admitted it, was a master quilter. She could take any piece of cloth, trim off the bad edges, and work it into a beautiful quilt.
God has really been bringing those quilts to my mind lately. I have been thinking how God is the master quilter in our lives. The different things we go through in life are like the different types of fabric. Sometimes we have beautiful pieces of silk ties in our life. All seems right with the world and life is wonderful and exciting. Other times we go through rough patches in our lives when it seems all about conflict. The fabric of our lives seem thick and rough like corduroy. The list goes on as we experience the soft and gentle days of cotton or the hard working durable times of denim. Each day of hardship or enjoyment is used by the Lord. He trims off those parts of our lives that will cause some sort of damage to his plan. Then He takes the remaining pieces and sews them into the quilt we call our life.
Lately, I have to admit that we have been walking through a very difficult time as a family. I have been crying out to God and asking Him to hold us close. I know that He uses every situation to trim off those unusable edges. I know that He will make our lives into something beautiful and useful. Our lives can be something that brings joy and warmth to others if we just turn it over to God. Help me to surrender every area of my life to You God. Help me to remember grandmama's quilts when I'm having a hard time. Help me to remember that anything in Your hands can be something beautiful.