Gifts I would Give You if I Could.

These six gifts have enhanced my life and creativity over the years as I’ve learned to open them and incorporate them into the rhythm of my life. I hope these gifts will enrich your life as they have mine.

1. All the time you need to do the things you want to do.

Notice I said the things you want to do, not the things you need to do, or have to do.  If you are like me the list of “need to do” and “have to do” is long, and seems to grow longer every day.  I used to think everything had to be checked off that list before I could do something I wanted to do.  Not anymore.  I know, sometimes a deadline demands being met first, but the reality is there will always be something that has to be done, kind of like laundry. Even with a busy schedule, I know I must make time for the things I want to do.  The key is learning to take a break…a real break...no matter what; to do something you want to do every day for an hour if you can, and once a week for a bigger chunk of time. I give you permission. Now will you give yourself permission? It’s important for my/ our sanity, quality of life and re-charging my battery. So what are the things you want to do? For me it is still sewing/ quilting (projects that are creative experimentations having nothing to do with business), spending time with my grandson and family, gardening, having coffee with friends, getting into the mountains or sitting and letting my mind wander.  

 2. The apology you deserve but never got.

                I will say it, “I’m sorry”. We’ve all been hurt by something or someone.  Some of them are big hurts and some are little hurts. Some needle the surface a thousand times a day and some cut core deep once, as if severing us from ourselves. And adding insult to injury, no one apologized. Maybe they didn’t even know they hurt you, maybe they didn’t care, maybe you were closed to hearing an apology, or maybe they died before it could be said.

As a human being who has lived, loved and had painful wounds that have been healed by years of counselling and Jesus’ redemption, I stand before you with open arms and a heart of compassion and say I know. But no matter how deep it hurts you can be healed, whole and free. I’m sorry you were hurt. It was not your fault. On behalf of the one who did you harm, I’m sorry.  Please, for your sake, I hope you can accept the apology and walk into 2022 freer.

 3. The ability to talk to animals.

                What interesting perspective would the animals have? Particularly animals like dogs, cats, elephants, whales, sea turtles, dolphins and otters? Dogs and cats because they live in such close proximity to us, and love so easily. They know how to relax and do what they want to do (see #1). I know my old dog Jake stuck to me like glue, and just plain loved me, and even gave his seal of approval to my quilting projects.

Elephants, whales, otters and dolphins because they create family units and relationships, are smart, and though they are large, they are gentle.  Elephants, whales and Sea Turtles because they live for such a long time, they must have wisdom to share. What would you want to know if you could talk to animals? I don’t know that I’m as concerned about talking to animals, but I’ve always had animals and suspect I always will. There’s a special, loving relationship that I have with them of unconditional love and trust. Petting my pets calms me and soothes me. But I suspect I get more from the relationship than they get from me, and I’m very grateful.

 4. A feeling of peace so profound it makes you a bit sleepy.

                A deep breath. A work of art. A prayer. Time in nature. Spending time creating. These are all things that give me peace. Profound peace makes me very relaxed, but often energizes me and frees my mind to create, though.  But it definitely helps me get a great night’s sleep.  The act of quilting, from A to Z, definitely gives me peace…its part of why I do it. It feeds my soul.  Creating the design, putting together the colors/ fabrics, stitching the blocks/ quilt top, quilting it, binding it, and admiring it.  Gazing upon the quilt/ work of art gives me pause, a moment of peace, every time. And I see the “peace effect” wash over onlookers at every quilt show when they come into my booth, too, so I know peace is the powerful gift of art; the powerful gift quilted into every quilt.  That then gets multiplied when you are wrapped up in the warmth of a quilt – toasty warm peace and tangible love. So I hope you will wrap up in your favorite quilt as you read a book or take a nap and feel a profound peace engulf you.   

 5. Permission to be imperfect.

                I don’t know who in your life gave you the impression you weren’t enough…that you had to be perfect.  You are not perfect. I am not perfect. Nobody is perfect.  And none of us ever will be.  Perfection is a great, big fat lie! In case you need to hear it, I give you permission to stop striving for perfection! You are enough, more than enough, just the way you are. You are beautiful and creative.

                And quilters…. I give you permission to make imperfect quilts.  In fact, there is no such thing as a perfect quilt.  You are human and so are your quilts.  Indeed your humanity is what makes them exceptionally beautiful! The quilting police are not going to show up at your door. (If they do, I give you permission to shut the door in their face.) Creativity flows with trial and error brainstorming while perfection kills it.   We are all on a creative journey, and each quilt is simply the next step on that journey; like a book being written page by page.

 6. Freedom from fear.

                This is a big important gift I would love to give you personally and creativity. Fear and perfectionism are often partners that paralyze. Conversely, freedom and imperfection are often partners that liberate you into creativity, joy and peace. For 30 years an anchoring verse that spurred me on in my personal life and healing journey has been “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7). In my life and in my sewing/ quilting I have learned more from the imperfect, than from the perfect. Finding and truly seeing and accepting the beauty in the humanity, just as I find it, and accepting that it’s a moment for now, not the end. Trial and error, sewing and un-sewing…they have all taught me volumes about what works, how things are best constructed, and what I like and don’t like together. Make “mistakes”…which are really just creative opportunities. So dive in and create: a quilt and a life.

 (and a fun pair of socks)

They are a gratuitous gift like joy.  And joy gives us strength. You have to wear socks to stay warm, you might as well have fun ones that make you smile!

  These are the gifts I would give you if I could. They are gifts that ultimately we have to give to ourselves. Slowly, over decades, I’ve given these gifts to myself; opened them and received them into my life. Some I’ve had to re-gift to myself. I hope you will receive this blog as a gift to encourage yourself to give yourself these gifts this year.

Merry Christmas!