Joy to the World

My heart is so heavy.  For families, children, and teachers.  Every where we turn we are reminded of how precious and fragile life is. 

We've had three porceline, fine china items break this weekend.  One of them my beloved Christmas dish.  One minute I was holding it and the next it slipped out of my hands and shattered on the floor.  There were countless tiny shards remaining.  It was impossible to fix.

It seemed poetic that so many unforeseen and un-fixable accidents occurred just after the news of precious babies and teachers losing their lives in an unthinkable manner.  Life is fragile. Life is precious. 

At church this morning, other mothers with young sobbed with me during the readings and prayers.  Our closing song was Joy to the World.  I thought it out of place and almost insulting that we could be expected to sing of JOY and the thrill of Christmas upon us.  We're hurting and frankly I want to be done with all the lofty expectations of a perfectly happy and blissful season.  There is so much pain in the world. 

But then we got to the third verse:

No more let sin and sorrow grow

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make his blessings flow

Far as the curse is found

Far as the curse is found

Verse 4:

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

Sin and evil seem to be winning the war right now.  My prayer is that others and myself will cling to what is good.  Know that the Lord is good.  He may seem distant and far away but He does indeed rule the world with truth and grace.  No more let sin and sorrow grow.

Blessings on you all, my friends

 

 

And incase you need some sewing-related things to look at for a break from all the sadness and sorrow, here are a few orders I've been working on: 

A is for Adam pillow for sale and ready to ship

A lovely rag quilt made for a dear friend who is expecting baby #2.  It is also boy #1 so he will be sure to have lots of time cuddled up in his new soft quilt this winter.  Red, navy, plaid, stripes... it's a very cool quilt.  The mama picked the fabrics and did a fabulous job of mixing the unexpectated in such a modern way.  Love how it turned out.

Pillow shams, patchwork, and cathedral window pillows to match a shabby chic quilt previously made for a client.  Ruffles, pom poms, and then super over-sized ruffles give the grouping a very romantic and shabby look.  These fabrics were mostly from Robyn Pandolph's lines. 

Finally I completed another baby bedding set which was a real joy.  The baby is expected in February.  I love the bright colors, vivid contrast, and overall happy theme my clients chose for this set.  I think it's so fun to get to know my clients through the fabric choices... the people who choose these types of color-saturated fabrics are generally super happy and become lifelong friends.   I'm completely addicted to custom orders because you really get to dig in and know your client. 

I pray for the babies that I sew for and their parents as I assemble the items.  My prayers are lifted up to the Lord that He will watch over them, bless them, and draw them to Himself as they grow.  That they will have compassionate hearts and want to serve their families and communities for the Lord. 

Keep praying for your children and those families who are missing their children this weekend.  They need a healing balm on their hearts.  Surround them with love.  Care deeply for those around you.  I know I have certainly slowed down my pace to play a little more and hug a little tighter.

Joy to the world indeed.