The Patchworked Quilt, by Paula Rose Michelson

When I wrote ‘The Patchwork Quilt’ in 1999 for a Woman’s Ministry Event I was speaking at I was thinking forward and backward. I post it today as a reminder to myself and others that what we do matters for eternity if that is our hearts focus and desire. Therefore, "Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in." (Mathew 6:19). http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6:18-20&version=NIV

The Patchworked Quilt

Lord, I am just a patchwork quilt made up of scraps and bits.

Colors that many or may not harmonize,

Fragments of most any size,

Sewn together with starts and fits.

Some may look at me and see the treasure of the years,

And realize that the seamstress chose fabric that was near and dear.

Others may see a shabby relic of the past,

And wonder why anyone would put forth the effort to make my fabric last.

But, You ‘Oh Creator of us all’

Know that in my life You have a heart call.

For You are the thread that holds together all,

The bright, the faded, the large, and the small.

I know that even though I am frayed and worn and some of my stuffing is torn,

In my present condition, I am a gift of your love.

May I be used to minister to those who need to hear of You enthroned above.

For without the threat of redemption that forms each perfect stitch,

Life would have no meaning, and pain would have no glitch.

I know that each trial woven into my faded tapestry,

Is another reminder of how great your love is for me.

Greater than the care of the weaver who fashioned each piece of cloth

From whose fragments, I am made.

For, when I received Your son by faith, my life itself you saved.

So let me step out in faith

To assume the mantle of change,

Let me put all my trust in You

As the fabric of my life, You rearrange.

Strengthen me for Your service. Keep me dedicated to Your cause.

Remind me that I was created to follow Your Godly laws.

Allow me to continually glorify You as You change me into something new,

Replete with an anointing that will last my whole life through.

Now when others see me, a new creation I will be.

But, underneath the memory of the patchwork quilt they will see.

And when they ask me of the ministry they have profited from,

I will tell them of Your calling, and Your Only Son.

For in duplicating my life’s call,

Eventually each Patchwork Quilt will become,

Heavenly tapestries,

Your glory to share with all as we Your Son, recall!