Pardon My Imperfections.

As I sew pieces of my quilt together I find myself holding my breath. I am so afraid of not doing this right I want to quit. The thought of this quilt with its imperfections being around for years to come taunts me. I don’t ever want anyone else to see the mistakes I’ve sewn.

          I have to keep reminding myself the goal of my actions…my quilting…is not to produce a perfect-show-quality quilt, but to give my family something that will bring them snuggly-warm comfort on a cold night, or a sick day.

          This nitpicking faultfinding mind set tends to hamstring me and keeps me from fully engaging in my daily life. What if I say or do the wrong thing? What happens if I don’t punctuate my sentences correctly? (And I don’t) What will happen if I don’t sew the seams of this quilt straight? What will happen if I don’t sew the seams of my life faultlessly? There are days I wish my life had a seam ripper so I could undo what I’ve created and start over.

          In my misguided longing for earthly perfection I miss the reason the Lord created me. I am to bring comfort, warmth, and refuge to those whose paths I cross; despite my imperfections.

So I will resolve myself to the fact that I am an imperfect quilter of quilts and of life. Somehow knowing I am making an effort to do both out of love makes my stumbling a little easier.