My Quilt!

Today in the Wisdom Class, our church office administrator and my friend, Beverly, came into the church library where we were meeting with a quilt. She unfolded it and told us the story of its creation, and how it grew before her very eyes. Beverly is renown for her quilts; she creates them for her family and for each new rector of All Saints Episcopal Church.

Another friend MB ordered one from Beverly, which turned out vibrantly beautiful. MB has it hanging on a wall in her home. That got me wishing for one of my own, but they're very expensive! So back in January, I decided to start saving all my $5 bills so that in a few years I could get my own quilt.

But today Beverly presented me with this African one! She said that months ago she decided to do this and called and asked husband CB what my favorite color is (green) and something about me--that I went to Zambia in 2006. And this was the result. You can see that the back is as beautiful as the front!

That was such a huge surprise! I never suspected anything while Beverly was talking about it in our class for Walter Wink's book The Powers That Be. Suddenly she handed it to me and gave me an invoice for $5!!

Someone in the class said it should be called "Jan's Joy," but Beverly named it "Rain Dance." On the label she wrote from the Australian Yearly Meeting:

"Even in times of drought, the wellspring of the spirit knows no restrictions."

We are in a drought here, so we need rain. Plus, we're getting to summer weather: 80-90F/78 F each day. The title of the quilt reminded me of the scripture I chose as the theme of the Emmaus Walk I was Lay Director for in JULY 2001:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
In the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
~~Jeremiah 17:7-8

This quilt will remind me of friendship, the Wisdom Class, how I love rain (I'm from WA State, after all), the Emmaus Walk when I was Lay Director, and my trip to Zambia. What a celebration!