One of my closest friends recently welcomed a beautiful little to her family after quite the journey. That story is theirs to tell, but I can share a small snippet in hopes of encouraging you to always foster hope.

When my friend got married years ago, I made a quilt for her and her husband. I hadn’t met him in person yet, but I soon did, and he thankfully tolerated me being around, because it could have been pretty miserable otherwise! I’ve since invaded their home several times. We don’t get to see each other often, but when we do, it’s always grounding for me. They are two of the most warm, generous, authentic people I know.

I didn’t have much material left from that quilt, but I tucked it away in hope…

Growing their family wouldn’t be traditional, but it was always possible because of God alone, and the last year revealed how amazing God is. To say there have been highs and lows doesn’t begin to capture the journey, but the constant thread through it all is God and his goodness. Because of him, I recently rummaged through my scraps of material and found the pieces of the marriage quilt. I then looked through scraps of other quilts I’ve made. I added some pieces from each of my granddaughters’ quilts, because this little one fell into the stairsteps of their ages and wiggled into the crevices of my heart. I have been praying for her without knowing who she would be. But I knew she would be loved and blessed. I added a few pieces of a couple of my own favorite quilts. I didn’t buy a single piece, which was yet another reminder of God’s abundant provision. He knows the pieces we already have and can create something new and unique when we’re willing to offer it all to him. I didn’t use every piece, but there was more than enough, and it could be arranged in a way that didn’t seem to work until it was together.

As I sewed, I prayed—on her behalf for all her todays and tomorrows as she grows with her family, as well as in gratitude to God. Sometimes the best words and only words we can find are, “Thank you, God.” 

I can’t help but think of how God pulls our lives together from such a menagerie of bits and pieces that we can’t seem to fit together. He’s extremely familiar with every piece. He chooses the arrangement in ways that we wouldn’t imagine. He uses what we wouldn’t. And he patiently pieces us together, in our own lives and alongside others. We often don’t see what he’s doing or how or why, but we don’t need to in order to whisper our gratitude. And it is that gratitude that stitches together our relationship with him. It is the steady hope that constantly loops back onto his trustworthiness and strengthens our ties of faith.

Welcome, little one. You have a great God who already loves you every day of your life.