I am on the home stretch of a wedding quilt for my son and his bride. The twins made the last two blocks yesterday, working late into the night. There have been frustrations, and ripped seams, imperfect corners and an ache in my right wrist. Aurelle brought me her half finished square with a problem that I could not solve. The piece of green simply was not big enough to hold hands with the black. I tossed it on the couch and said to start over. But she persevered and added a one inch margin that bridged the gap. I was impressed. 

While my eyes migrate towards the imperfections, overall it looks great. It is my sixth stained glass quilt, which is a pattern not for sissies. My intention is that it will last for many years.

When I first bought the book that taught me how to make these, I could not have anticipated the obstacles. The cover photograph made it look easy. But it is not. Tracing the design, cutting fabric to fit, recutting if I underestimated, slicing strips of black, and sewing each of the twenty four to a hundred pieces that comprise each block is time intensive. But spread out over a month, it was manageable. 

My prayer is that the quilt will be a blessing to their marriage. Perseverance is embedded in every seam. Even the ripped ones carry the message to try again more thoughtfully. Measuring, and measuring again translates into measured words, spoken mindfully. Corners in sync represent the effort to coordinate with each other.

The wedding is in a handful of days, and all nine of our children will be there. That makes three times in one year that they have taken off work, packed their bags, traveled, found accommodations and showed up to smile.  One time was to play at the beach, once to say goodbye to Grandpa, and now to celebrate a marriage. 

My blessings cannot be outnumbered even by the pieces in a stained glass quilt.