Wednesday, April 28, 2010

THE LITTLE THINGS


Both my grandmother and my great grandmother ALWAYS carried a handkerchief in their purse. They were pretty little things with flowers, butterflies and other lovely things on them. I was gifted many of these beautiful treasures growing up, most of which were never used (just looked pretty in my purse) and some that never made it out of the boxes.
We were talking the other day about getting rid of a lot of the junk that we have been hauling around with us over the years and never use. That night I thought of that little grouping of beautiful hankies (term used back then). I wondered where they were and if I would ever see them again if we started tossing old stuff out. A little panic went through me that one of the family, not knowing that my grandmothers had given them to me and that to me they were special, would simply toss them.
Saturday, we went to storage and the first box my daughter-in-law handed me, she said, "Look and see if there is anything in here you really want to keep." To my amazement, there they were all together, folded as neatly as they would have been in my purse. I am not sure what I will do with these memorable little pieces of cloth, maybe quilts for my grandchildren, but I never thought I would be so happy to see embroidered squares in my life.
Suddenly it occurred to me that it was not the beautiful little squares that were important at all, but the memories they held for me of my grandmothers and the love with which they gave these articles to me that made them important. It is my hope that I can teach that kind of love with the little things in life to the grandchildren God has blessed me with!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

INSURMOUNTABLE PROBLEMS


When I was very young, my grandmother started teaching me to sew. The first thing she taught me was how to thread a needle (the old fashioned way, not with a threader). It was huge to me at that time, but over time became very insignificant, until yesterday!
My seven year old granddaughter brought me her little sewing machine that was given to her by her other grandmother and said, "Grandmother, can you fix my sewing machine, because I know you are the ONLY one that would know how."
The compliment was was so sweet and I hoped I would be able to live up to the mechanical difficulty of fixing this little machine that Singer® had taken great strides to making sure that a child could not get into the inner workings of for safety reasons. I began looking at what the problem could possibly be and yes, as I am sure you have figured out already, she didn't know how to thread the needle.
Our problems in life are very similar as my beautiful grandchild's. While they may be simple to one person, until we are shown what to do, they are insurmountable. How about teaching someone to thread a needle today?!