Quilt of Holes

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along With all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; An angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a Tapestry that is our life.


But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged And empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each Square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the Challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw Hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole Here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the Bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was Disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and Empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the Light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, And nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame...

I hadn't had all the earthly Fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with The temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to Accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.

An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who Stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, Creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with Warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life To Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine Through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine Through!

God determines who walks into your life ... it's up to you to decide who you Let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.

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"The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established."
~Proverbs 16:1,9,3 (ESV)

Barbers and God

This is a good analogy explaining why God allows pain and suffering:

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.

They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.

"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

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James 4:8

Hebrews 11:6
Proverbs 4:20-23
Psalm 107:20
Exodus 15:26

1 Corinthians 2:14

Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer

My daughter has had 6 surgeries on her right ear in 4 years. Within the past year alone, she’s had 3 of them… in Aug, Nov & May. She’s been through a lot physically and yet she hasn’t lost faith. She continues to believe that God will heal her of her ear problems and she will live a joyous, healthy life. During these times, I’ve asked friends and family to pray for her, played a healing CD for her, and asked my church to pray for her as well. Her last surgery was a success!! For the first time ever, Veronica has normal hearing!! Thank you Jesus!!!

… 5 months later we encounter a problem… she has a bad infection in her left ear… in her “good” ear. So far she’s been every week to the doctors, 3 weeks in a row, ear drops and a change of antibiotics. We pray that this doesn’t turn into the trouble we had with her right ear. Although she is brave and full of faith and reassurance, it is very difficult to grasp the fact that she has fallen ill again. And so we continue to pray. And so this article is written.

We know our God to be merciful and compassionate. We’ve read countless stories of His healings and miracles. We know that God is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer. So the big question that has been asked is, knowing that He heals, why are some still plagued with illness?

The first thing we have to acknowledge is that God can and does heal. “for I am the LORD, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). God’s will is to heal our physical body. He doesn’t want us to suffer with sickness and disease. One thing He asks of us is faith… faith in Him; Jehovah-Rapha. We might try to understand why but we must always remember that His ways are higher than ours. And in understanding this, we accept that God has full authority over all sickness and can choose to heal whenever and whomever He chooses. We must also understand that sometimes God allows us to have sickness so that will we look to Him for His strength and power. The sickness can teach us a valuable lesson about our faith.

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Let’s read that again… "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Do you hear how divine that is?! Our Lord is His strongest in our weakest moments. He does not leave us to wallow in our pain. He does not leave us to cower in our affliction. Instead, the Lord says that His grace is sufficient and far more than we can ever hope or imagine. He will free us of our ailments if we fully surrender ourselves to Him.

"It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees." (Psalm 119:71)

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us - they help us learn to endure." (Romans 5:3)

Why are some still plagued with illness? I know for my daughter it is because God uses these medical problems to strengthen her. It has drawn us closer not only to one another but also to God. We have experienced and learned so much in this time and one thing is for certain… we will only receive God’s mercy if we surrender to Him. We pray a little longer. Pray a little louder. Pray more often. We continuously thank God for all He’s given us and for being with us at all times, regardless of circumstance. We thank Him for bringing us through this storm, directing us to safety; steering my precious daughter to a healthier life.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
How beautiful these words are. How dear we hold them.