Rebecca is a friend of mine, and she is doing something special for my family. Losing our son Bryan has, beyond a doubt, been the most difficult part of our journey on earth. Adding to our heartache has always been that Bryan never got to meet his precious son Tucker. We often laugh at what it would have been like for Bryan to see a “mini” Bryan. As a matter of fact, once the family discovered Bryan and Sarah were having a boy, Bryan several times, jokingly said, “We are going to name him “L’il” Bryan. That was prophetic!

Sarah and all of us want Tucker to know about his dad. One of the ways that is happening is via my friend Rebecca. Rebecca is making Tucker a memorial quilt using Bryan’s old tee-shirts. The tees that were chosen all represent things that Bryan loved. Tucker, with our help, can walk down memory lane and know about the love of his father, and the kind of man he was.

As God’s children, I think we should all create a memorial quilt in our minds, and in our journals. Write it down.  In the midst doing life, it’s easy to forget the love of our Father.

If I were to make a quilt, I know some of the squares would include:

• God found this little hurt and abused girl, and adopted her through Christ, and healed her crushed emotions.
• God supplied the funds for me to go to Southeastern University of the Assemblies of God. After one semester, I was asked to take a semester off to pay the bill, and then I could return.  What would I do?  I looked in my mailbox just before Christmas break, and there was a note that my bill had been paid in full. I still don’t know who paid it.
• God blessed me with a loving, patient husband, who would be a huge piece of the puzzle for my emotional wholeness to take place. I listen to women pray for a man, any man, just a man! Or, people pray that God will send a man who is 6’1”, blonde and rich. I am just thankful God sent the exact man I needed.
• God sent wonderful women in my life to mentor me to become a woman of God. They were tough on me sometimes, but I am so thankful that they did not sugar coat things to make me feel better. On that quilt square would be Women of the Word, Iverna Tompkins, Mary Ann Brown and June Evans. I don’t want to be a shallow, mediocre believer; I want to be a woman of God!
• God blessed me with wonderful sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. My cup runneth over.
• God blessed me with people who rubbed me the wrong way. Though I did not think so at the time, I needed them. I needed them to show me things that  needed changing in my own life. I needed their help to learn to serve God faithfully, knowing that everyone is not going to jump on my band wagon,  and not to wimp out every time someone hurts my feelings.
• God has given me wonderful, wonderful friends in the Body of Christ. They are like family. I can cry with them, laugh with them and grow with them.
• God has opened doors of ministry for me that I never dreamed possible. If you had asked me thirty years ago if I would be doing this now, I would have said NO! God does have a purpose for us, and as we faithfully walk with Him, He will bring us into that divine purpose.

I could go on and on and make a king-sized quilt.

Tucker will always see things on a quilt, and there will be a story that he has learned about His father. Those blocks will tell the story of his dad.

There’s something that happens when we just sit and go back over our lives, and remember the love of the Father. After reading this blog, take a piece of paper and begin drawing your memory quilt. Pull it out frequently and be reminded of who your Father is. Better yet, tell your children the stories of the squares of your quilt so they will know the Father.

Start sewing your quilt today. Square by square, you will see the love of the Father, and what a beautiful display it will be.

“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” – Lamentations 3:22-23