OUTDOOR TRUTHS

I have a favorite blanket. Don’t laugh. You probably do to. And if you don’t now, you once did. Deny it and I’ll just ask your momma, and she’ll show me picture after picture of you with your thumb in your mouth and your blanket over your shoulder. My own son was not only attached to a certain blanket, but he also had a favorite corner of the blanket. I can remember that blanket having to be restored several times and ultimately becoming a series of knots that simply held one piece to the other. My blanket is special for a few reasons. It’s only wide enough for me, it’s camo, it’s two layers of fleece, and my daughter made it for me. Just writing about it makes me want to stop what I’m doing and go get it.

If you think about it, blankets are prized possessions of many women today. Except this blanket is no longer in use. It is for safe-keeping and for remembering family and events. It is their mother’s or grandmother’s quilt. It was put together one piece at a time from swatches of clothing or fabric that had made its way to the rag pile. Part of a coat has been sewn to a strip of a worn-out shirt. The other side of that shirt is attached to the leftover seat of an old pair of blue jeans. A portion of a baseball jersey is attached to a sliver of your first pair of pajamas. Each piece seemingly no longer of any value on its own and seemingly without any connection to the other. And yet there it is, one whole tapestry, completely understood, and of immeasurable value. All from what was once falling-apart, worthless swatches of unconnected material. Except to the seamstress. Except to the one who was there for the first onesie and the first silky blanket. Except for the one who understood that each section was always a part of the whole, that there were no random events, and there were no worthless pieces.

God is taking every swatch of your life and sewing them together. What you see as worthless and worn-out, He sees as indispensable and ready for its best use. What you see as unconnected, God sees as vital to the whole. What you see as insignificant, He sees as essential in who He is making you to be. And what you see as a flaw, He sees as what will be someone’s favorite corner of your life. God has been there from the very beginning, and not one piece of your life will be wasted. Individually they may not make sense, but God is bigger than your pieces. He is not only making you into a quilt to be admired and remembered, but also into a blanket to be used to bring comfort and assurance to others.

Gary Miller

gary@outdoortruths.org

Gary has written the Outdoor Truths article for 20 years. He has also written four books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son

evotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations