This message will arrive in your inbox after the Marriage Conference. I am, of necessity, writing it ahead of time, so verb tenses are stretched when I talk about yesterday when it is actually tomorrow. 

 

I feel safe in saying it went well. Or will go well. Actually, many of the blessings happened along the way in the preceding weeks. Friends told me about the conversations they had getting ready for their workshops, and how they enjoyed it. I sent some of them names of those who had signed up, which made it more real, and they were excited. People offering hands on options were busy preparing wood, and wool, and colored paper in anticipation of friendly folks arriving to be creative. 

 

The woman in charge of the care for a large flock of children smiled each time I saw her, and conveyed calm confidence in the task. Her smile made me smile. How amazing it is, to have people who want to serve, who know how, and follow through? Is there any difference between them and angels? 

 

I know I had a ball gathering raffle prizes, which included a stack of quilts. Some were old, some new. Others are vintage enough to be antiques. I made most of them, but a few were bought on eBay. They vary in size, from miniatures to table runners, from baby quilts to bedcovers. I love the symbolism of two sides, the front and the back, with batting in the middle. They remind me of the partnership of marriage, with God as the unseen center. Thousands of tiny stitches hold it all together, which for me are the daily interactions over a span of years. 

 

Yet prizes aside, I pray that each person who showed up to present, or listen, to have fun in the Pennypack or share a meal, to play with children or bring bouquets of flowers, went home with gifts that will not go out of style.