"Bits `n Pieces"

I recently gave a devotion for my Bible Study leadership and wanted to share it. It is called "BITS `N PIECES" As I have gotten older, my mind thinks a bit differently about life. Because I have lived way over half of it…  I touched on it a bit when I was talking last year about seasons, and how seasons change as we get older and children grow up and move out.     But truly now, I think a lot about my purpose and the legacy that I will leave my children and grandchildren, giving something that will outlive me. And glorify God. It makes you not look so much  toward the” ONE DAYS”  but to concentrate on the "TODAYS…"We have had a series at church called, “Leaving a legacy to make a difference” . Psalm 65:11 says,” You crown the year with a bountiful harvest, even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.”Reminds me that even in the dark times, and hard journeys ,we have the opportunity to work on our legacy… It is not only about the trial and hard times, but how we handle it that makes a difference People will remember how we ran our race….We  can  make every day a masterpiece, approach it as an empty canvas to give God, as we  have a vision of the finish line… and finishing strong…This year as we have been studying Timothy, I remember in2 Timothy 1:5 talks about how Eunice and Lois were believers and Timothy came to faith in Christ while he was young , through their witness and teaching… What a sweet story of the love between Timothy and his mother and grandmother. We CAN make a difference to our children and grandchildren by how we live.......Loved to read about the legacy they both left… A few weeks ago, I was looking for something I couldn`t find, as I often do, and opened a box with papers in it…. I found a folder that I had stuck in there almost 6 years ago.  I can remember the date because in two weeks, it will have been 6 years since Mother lost her short battle with cancer and went home to be with God.. and these papers and boxes came to my house soon afterwards as we were cleaning out her house.  So many times I thought about her life and her things… that were left.  I am always sad to see a sign for an estate sale… it means someone has died and strangers are coming over to dig through their life`s treasures. They were special to somebody and now, they are just stuff to get  rid of..   and then that brings me back to my house and my :STUFF: and if it will mean anything to anyone one day when I am gone?!!  And to take it a step farther…… it overwhelms me and whispers to me, to start now. Go through it and get rid of STUFF you don`t need anymore so no one else will have to do it!!  That is just how my mind works, all over the place!! But as I flipped through the  pages in the box , I came across an old folder that had papers in her hand writing. It was, an opening  that she had written for her garden club. After I read it, In a weak moment,  I texted DeeDee to see if she needed me for a devotion… and told her I would be glad to help out…. You see, I felt like I had found a bit of a treasure… for me…… I love when God does that……. In reading her words, it just reminded me of the legacy she left for us….As this was  for her garden club installation of officers, I read between the lines  to relate it to how the body of Christ works…  I would like to share it with you this morningIt is from 1978… and she calls it, "Bits N pieces"I am glad to be here with you tonight. I`ll have to say this is my first installation service and when Joyce asked me if I would please take her place as she would have to be out of town…. Well………., ( I smiled when I read that, because I thought the same thing as it got closer to time for my turn to do the devotion, a little bit out of both of our comfort zones!!)She said,   In trying to find a theme for tonight, it just seemed natural to use one of my most recent projects to base our service on.My patchwork  tablecloth. So tonight as we look ahead to a new year together, lets  think for just a minute about bits and pieces, and how they all fit together to make a whole.As I read that part,  Ephesians 4:16 came to my mind… “From whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love”And Romans 12:4-5 For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”Then  she says, My love of fabric goes back a long way, from the time my first daughter was born and I made her first little dress. Then another little girl,   me….. was born and more little dresses.  (She always made blue dresses for my sister and pink for me!  ) all through grammer school, high school and college and weddings. More dresses.  But now my life had taken a different path, 4 ½ years ago, my husband died and I was left with an 8 year old son, and the realization that I would have to try and make a new life for myself with him.Once again, my love of fabric and lace was to become a very important part of my life.As my sewing became therapy for me, a little part time business began to take shape.Those of you who know me, know I make decorative pillows and accessories and wedding invitations. I am always on the lookout for unusual pieces of fabric or lace or tiny flowers that I can press and use in my pictures or invitations.   Side note… it was always a joke she said to me… if anything ever happens to me, my craft room is yours. I don`t want anyone else going through it.. She knew that I wouldn`t throw it all away, but go through it all and either find new homes, or take it home with me…!! And I did, when the time came, to go through every piece of lace and fabric and craft items.. in her sewing room..She continued……My little pin cushions start off with bit and pieces of lace, velvet and ribbon, then put them all together to make my little “mother`s” pin cushions., as she called them.Some folks accuse me of driving with one eye on the side of the road, as I seek my little blossoms to press.  Once again,  bits and pieces of god`s beautiful world are put together to make my little pictures My tablecloth started out with many scraps, bits and pieces… some from pillows I have sewn and manyMy tablecloth started out with many scraps, bits and pieces… some from pillows I have sewn and many from friends as we exchange scraps to go in our cloths. As the blocks are finished, they are all joined together to make a whole.Just as my little projects take many pieces to make a whole, so your Garden club takes the work of many to make a whole. So, with your help, as I pieced my cloth together, lets piece a quilt block together.She listed all of the officers and their roles… handed out paper pieces with numbers …  But please look, she said,  we do not have our complete quilt block yet.Much of the fascination and satisfaction of quilt piecing is derived from seeing how each piece falls into place and also how no one piece stands alone. , but is dependent upon each other for completion She had them all lay down their block and piece them together….. Now if everyone will place your blocks with the rest…Even so the success of your club is achieved through each officer doing well, his assignments in cooperation with each other officer. But to complete the quilt, we will add these others… they represent you, the essential elements necessary to complete a well    coordinated club.And last I am going to add a few gold threads, they represent the golden hands of friendship, that exists among us.. These friendships are the ties that hold our club together. They highlight our time together as they highlight our quilt. This all just parallels with our role as members of the body of Christ.   He is the vine, we are the branches… apart from Him, we can do nothing.    We all have different  roles ,  But He is the golden thread that brings us all together.   We are the bits n pieces, that fit together to make the body of Christ work.   And give him the gloryThis is  just a small part of mothers legacy…. That lives on through her words and thoughts on paper.     but more than this, her legacy was her life, the way she intentionally lived it, the love she shared, the smile she always had for others,  her love for God, her example ,  how she treated others,   That is her legacy. She made a difference...What will  our legacy be? What will we be remembered for?   What will God say about how we lived our life when He greets us one day?  Are we living the best we can, for Him? Did we bring Him glory when we had opportunities?Matthew 16:27, For  the son of Man is going to come in his fathers glory with his angels and then he will reward each person, according to what he has done.” Our goal isn`t to live on earth forever, but leave something that does…