Quilts

My mom is an avid quilter.  And has she been busy!  When I visited this Summer, I was able to see many of her quilting projects.  Some of them are finished, some have been started, and some are in the planning stages. She made quilts in various fruit shapes for all of the tables at her church's women's retreat. (The theme was fruit of the Spirit.  They were a big hit!)  She made a beautiful 3-D quilted flower pillow for my sister.  And she even made a full sized quilt for me. (I take it with me to my weekly bible study because the room is so cold.  The other women are jealous.) My mom has always enjoyed sewing, but I've never seen her make so many things.  Part of it is because she finally retired, so she has the time.  But the driving force is really her eyes.  You see, my grandmother became blind due to macular degeneration.  It was difficult to watch an avid reader lose her eyesight.  And the type of macular degeneration she had is hereditary.  My mom knows that she, too, could lose her eyesight to this disease.  Her comment to me was that she wanted to quilt and sew as much as she could before her eyes give out.  She knows that her time may be limited to do something she loves and she does not want to miss out.

It made me think... I often put off doing things that I enjoy.  I know in my head that my time on earth is limited and I should live life to the fullest, but too often that knowledge is overridden by my to do list.  I tell myself that I can do what I love tomorrow, but today I must accomplish certain tasks.  Now there are some tasks that are time sensitive and can't wait, I understand that.  The problem comes when I begin to see everything on my list in that way.  The next thing I know, days or weeks have passed since doing what I truly love.  As time goes on, it becomes easier to keep pushing it off until I can't even remember what it was that I wanted to do in the first place.  But what if I lived fully aware of my limited time?  How would I manage my time?  What things would suddenly seem less urgent?  What things would become more urgent?

The possibility of going blind has given my mom clarity.  She spends time doing what she loves.  She cherishes and nurtures it by practicing, taking classes, and spending time with others who share her passion.  In the process she not only makes beautiful things for us to enjoy, but she reminds me to choose wisely.  My time is limited....