In Conversation with My Creator - Joylene M. Bailey

I got my love for sewing and quilting from my Mom, who got it from her Mom. I guess you could say that sewing/quilting is a family tradition. 

Loving it is also a family tradition. 

My husband still enters my sewing space with trepidation because he remembers growing up with a mom who was grouchy every time she sewed. He is always surprised by how happy I am when I am at my sewing machine.

Mom always has another quilt on the go, and her eyes light up as she talks about colours and fabrics and new ways of quilting. She tells me that when she sews she bubbles with worship to her Creator. It is her form of worship. She gives God glory as she works with her hands.

We are created to create. So, when I create with fabric, thread, and quilting needles, I am giving back to my Creator. I am doing exactly what I was created to do. 

This conversation, this back and forth - Creator giving the desire and giftedness to create, Me giving back with worship and thanksgiving, He delighting in my creating - is a deeply spiritual thing. 

It is a Refreshing. 

A Cleansing. 

A place where things I'm struggling with in my "other" life come into focus and are seen from another perspective, because I am communicating with God, my Creator, when I sew.  

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My latest quilting project was a baby quilt for our newest granddaughter, who was born a month ago. 

Because I am not as good at it as Mom is, the quilt has some mistakes that I wouldn’t have made had I been more accomplished. But to be accomplished one has to spend hours and hours and hours of learning and practice, which I haven’t done ... yet.  

It's a lot like writing that way.

Still, I sew with the little expertise I have and hope that the love will show through. Meanwhile I’ll learn and grow with each project I work on, knowing that my Creator looks on with pleasure, as I take pleasure in creating.

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Joy sews and writes from Edmonton. You can check out more of her joy-infused writing at Scraps of Joy.

His Pleasure and Mine by Joylene M. Bailey

When I write I feel my own pleasure.

But not always.

I love writing. I do. But it's not always fun. It doesn't always come easy. And though I usually get pleasure out of the end result, I don't always get pleasure out of the hard work it takes to get there.

My favourite times to write are when I am writing something for a specific person - a little story, a poem, song, or encouraging note. That brings me the most pleasure, and it mixes with God's pleasure then.

But that's not the only time I feel God's pleasure. As I pondered the question for this blog post, I realized ... I feel His pleasure when I write.
Period.

But it doesn't always feel the same.

When I press on through a difficult writing project, I feel He is pleased with me, the same way I am pleased when I watch my child persevere through something hard.

When I use my gift of writing - the gift He gave me to use - I feel His heart warm the same way my Mom's heart warmed when I passed on to my grandson the quilt she had made for my infant daughter.

When I take the time to glean through dictionaries and thesauruses in order to find the best-fitting word, I feel Him right there beside me cheering me on.

When I push past my fears and say YES to a writing assignment instead of cowering in a corner, I feel His pride in my courage.

When I use my gift to encourage another I feel His "well done".

When I am myself when I write and not trying to fit a mold or follow someone else's style, I feel the security of His unconditional love.

At Writers Cafe when we are sharing the writings we have just completed for the writing prompt and we are laughing or pondering as we take in and enjoy the unique voices and writing styles He has given each individual, I feel His joy.

His pleasure is there whenever I write. Because He created me to create, I feel His pleasure when I am fulfilling that purpose.
And that gives me pleasure.