Reflection: The Divine Design

Tag : Patch Quilts
In my early twenties I attendeda conference sponsored by an enthusiastic movement which wasflourishing in ecumenical Christian circles.

One of the workshop speakers was a Southern Baptist minister whohad helped to found a large network of Christian communities whichidentified themselves as non-denominational churches. Born inAlabama and raised in an anti-Catholic home, over the years he hadgrown in his admiration of the Catholic faith through hisexperiences with Catholics. He had also become quite popular as aspeaker.

A friend encouraged me to select this workshop from among severaloffered during the morning hours of this conference. It was amemorable experience. The speakers love for - and familiarity with- the Christian Scriptures was inspiring. He had committed many tomemory and the verses flowed naturally within the context of histeaching and preaching.

His style was inspiring. He passed back and forth from scripture toinsight, much like the dynamic that is found in the writings of theearly Church Fathers. This familiarity with the scriptures fanned aflame growing within me, a hunger to be immersed in Gods word inorder to be more deeply converted through an encounter with theLiving Word, Jesus Christ.

Having spent my own early childhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Iwas quite unfamiliar with Southern mannerisms. His accent, carriageand vocal cadence kept my attention and ensured that I heard theentire message. I had a very different set of childhood experiencesgrowing up in the City! He began his talk with a story from hisrural Southern childhood which was filled with symbolic insight.

That story, which I heard almost thirty years ago, has repeatedlycome back to my mind as I have lived my very real life, filled asit has been with all the unexpected turns, disappointments, sorrowsand joys that are the stuff of human experience. I share it withyou now, my reader, in the hopes that it can help you as well tobelieve there is a Divine Design.

He recalled crawling to the quilting frames where, from his vantagepoint, he could only see strands of thread, fabric and splashes ofcolor hanging down between the wooden slats. He vividly recountedthat one special day when he was able to pull himself up on theside of the wooden frame and behold the beautiful design fromabove.

It was an epiphany moment. What had once been perceived by atoddler as strands of fabric, thread and splashes of color wasactually revealed as an extraordinary tapestry. The quilter was anartist who had a beautiful design in mind from the beginning.

As the speaker grew older and could stand upright on his own, hewas able to see those designs with less difficulty. He would neverforget that moment of encounter as a toddler when he pulled himselfup on the side of that Quilting frame.

The story served as a rich pictorial image and symbolic frameworkfor his entire presentation. He opened up a deeper understanding ofHow the Lord works in our own lives. There is a Divine design. Fromabove, there is a pattern, being woven by God out of the fabric ofour everyday lives. It is from below that this often appears asstrands of thread and cloth. As we grow in faith and co-operatewith grace, we are enabled to pull ourselves upright through ourchoices, our exercise of human freedom.

This story, and the image that it conveys, has reemerged atpivotally important times in my own life. Let me be honest, life isoften confusing - and pain is a part of the program. As I haveaged, I have become more honest about all of this. In spite of yourbest efforts, things do not always go the way that you had hoped.The questions emerge at an ever deeper center, a core. Questionssuch as how does this all make sense?

The speaker shared another insight drawn from quilting. The quilterbegins at a center point, with a patch of cloth that becomes thereference point from which he or she weaves the entire pattern ofthe quilt. From that center, the design emanates and to it, thedesign returns. It is also to that center that the eye is drawnwhen the whole quilt is observed from above.