A journal entry from September 14, 2022
I couldn't help smiling as the pressure foot slid across the fabric. Even the pressing and the pinning didn't seem unenjoyable as the project inched closer and closer to being done.
The final touches to Vivian's quilt had me practically giddy.
It was far from my best work. Block corners didn't meet and match up perfectly. Loose strings poke out from the seams and cling to the quilt top (this made me smile, remembering that each of my grandma's project bore the same signature). The bright blues, pinks, and purples were anything but neutral and aesthetic.
Yet I couldn't help but think of the excitement that it would bring Viv to have a special blanket with all of her favorite colors and things. I had picked out the fabrics with Moana, hearts and unicorns with her sparkly-eyed smile in mind.
"I love this part of being a mom," I thought. "I love doing special things for my girls just because I can."
I heard His voice quietly speak to me, "I feel the same way."
Of course He does. This passage comes to my mind:
"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" - Matthew 7:11 (ESV)
What a sweet gift for God to stop my thoughts and meet me in this random act of mothering. To reveal His heart to me in it.
God is our heavenly father in every aspect of the word. He corrects us, guides us, disciplines us. He provides for us, redeems us and grows us. He loves us in an abundant, selfless, sacrificial manner (think motherhood multiplied by 10,000).
Yet there is another way that he loves us as a Father...
His tenderness.
His intimate knowledge of our hearts.
His delight in our joy.
His desire to give us good things.
Why do I assume that this delight in delighting our children is a uniquely human thing? Is not every GOOD aspect of human relationship a reflection of the heart of God?
As I put away sewing notions and vacuum up 1,782 pieces of thread, I thank Him. I thank the Lord for putting this love for my daughters in my heart, allowing me to see even a shadow of His affection for me. And I ask Him to give me a heart that believes this is true of Him. That I would live and pray this week truly believing that my heavenly father adores and delights in me and desires to make His love known to me.
I pray that as I go through these days of mundane motherhood and housekeeping, I would see the tangible gifts of the Father's love littering my home and life.
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