quilting bee

As a girl, one of the things I most looked forward to about growing up was becoming a member of the women’s organization, Relief Society. In my young mind that would be the milestone marking the time I finally “arrived” at the stage of life called “womanhood”. So you can imagine my joy, when I turned 12 and was invited by our ward Relief Society sisters to join their summer quilting group. I was invited to be one of “them”! For one morning a week, through the whole summer, I, an ordinary girl, could rub shoulders with the noble and great. My young hands, already well-acquainted with the needle and thread, caught on quickly as they tutored me in the techniques of hand-quilting. As I worked side by side with those wonderful ladies, I soaked up every aspect of the experience. What a thrill it was to listen to their chatter, I was in awe of their wisdom, their goodness. I was warmed by their laughter and encouraging words to each other, and to me!

I learned a most powerful lesson one memorable day. That morning Sister Turley excused herself from the quilt, explaining that she had a commitment and would have to leave early. After she had gone, another sister got up from where she was working and came to examine sister Turley’s stitches. She shook her head and announced to the rest of us, “These just won’t do! I’ll have to take them all out!” She would have started that painstaking process then and there, but decided to finish the area she was working on first, and went back to her spot. Just a few minutes later, Sister Turley came back in, sat down where she had been working, and explained, “My car wouldn’t start, so I will keep working until my son gets here to pick me up.” My heart skipped a beat as I realized the horror of what could have happened.

It was a very powerful lesson. And not just the lesson that I’d better keep my stitches worthy of that sister’s scrutinizing eye! The lesson was this: None of us is perfect; Sister Turley had many strengths (she was, by far, the best musician the ward had ever had, then, and probably since). So then, shouldn’t we, out of our love and appreciation for her as one of the noble and great, accept her offering on the quilt, even though it was imperfect, because it was offered out of her love, and was the very best she could give?

(this is an excerpt from a talk given at Fountain Colorado Stake Conference, Nov 12 2006; to receive a hard copy of the complete talk, send a request to loveylou627@gmail.com)