A moment of silence, and the 2nd magic quilt

Sometimes I think the most magical thing about The Magic Quilt are the relationships forged through the suffering and the compassion. The reaching in and the reaching out. I feel so thankful to be making new magic connections on a regular basis, and it only strenghtens my resolve to reach further and dig deeper. One thing I've learned from this is that EVERYONE has a story. And everyone needs a story. Please share yours and help us heal the world, one quilt at at time.


When I first started this project I wanted the magic to save people. Make them all better. Now I see that people don't need to be saved. They need to be comforted. We cannot decide who lives or dies, but we can decide to lend a hand in carrying the burdens and easing the suffering of those who live and die.


The magic quilt has exceeded my expectations by every stretch of my imagination. I never dreamed it would come to mean so much to so many so quickly. If you're new to this blog and don't know the story of Stan and Lila, this post and this post will help you understand them better.


I am deeply honored that I was allowed to be a small part of their journey. MAHALO!





Allow me to share an email I received after Stan's passing from a girl named Corinne, who knows Stan and Lila.

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I need you to know how much that quilt meant to Lila and Stan. When I first arrived at their home, Stan had passed about an hour earlier. The quilt was still on him, then, and was on him until the funeral home came and my husband and Tom helped them carry him to the car. Lila showed me different parts of it, told the stories and showed me, in quiet whispers, the names that had been sewn into it. OH the spirit was there. I am telling you. THANK YOU for the balm you handed to my friends.


Corinne

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I also found this beautiful poem/post on Corrine's blog Littlest Bird.




in the home where someone has passed away

after a long illness,

there is a blanket of peace.



it is made by the weight of an amazing life lived,

and by the strength of the people who

stood by bedsides

held hands

stroked foreheads

administered relief

pulled up blankets

taped cheerfully drawn pictures on the wall

told stories

and remembered.

remembered and remembered about life

before cancer.



hugs are tighter, then, in that home,

where the loved one is lying still on his bed,

his spirit released from the prison of his

ailing body.

it's as spiritual as the feeling in the temple, or the most

sacred place you can imagine.



feelings are raw but that rawness is absorbed

in a love that chimes with selflessness.

and when you look into the eyes of the woman who has lost

her companion of thirty-five years,

you KNOW

you KNOW

that God was watching over her

as she helped her husband

pass from this life

to the next

and that He will continue to be with her

as she waits to be with him

again.

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And finally I want to show you the 2nd magic quilt, thanks to April from Springrose Journals. She made a mini magic quilt for a young girl named Riley who was recently diagnosed with stage four spinal cancer. I really love this quilt because it is so happy. So very happy. And cheery. Springrose, did you put Mighty Man Adam's fuzzy blanket on the back?

Springrose! This whole design made my eyeballs completely sweaty! MAHALO Springrose! BIG HUGS! Look at me surrounded by Don and Stan and Lila and Mighty Man Adam. That's the closest I've ever felt to being queen for a day. ;)