Mending: Revisted

*This post was originally written in September 2009. I had approximately 3 readers then, so I thought it would be worth the revisit. ;) I will report that now my daughter is almost 8 and nearing the end of 2nd grade and the blankie has been tucked away safely...though she still asks for it. As for the mangy mutt...he is still with her, curled up in her arms as she sleeps right now. *

 I have been putting this "project" off for quite some time. And, as usual, the more I put it off, the worse it got. My daughter loves her blankie. I mean love, love, loves her blankie. I know she is 6 years old and a very big 1st grader now, but we can't seem to get rid of this well loved friend of hers. Its just a part of her. It was a gift from Grandma Pearl who is now 91and not so able to continue making blankets. So, its quite irreplaceable to me. See, this is her when it was beautiful and new and you could see the design on it. It was fresh and clean, and yes, already, very much beloved.

Isn't my baby just so precious and sweet?! She was fresh and new there too! I thought I would have a hard time finding a picture with that blanket in it, hah! Not so much, every page I turned in her scrapbook was like "where's waldo" for the blankie. It was usually around, no matter what. Which has caused us to look more like this. This is her other best friend. His name is Lucky. Lucky he hasn't been condemned yet because of all the disease he must be carrying! Wherever blankie is, Lucky is also. Now that Maicy is 6 however, they do both stay in her room on her bed on school mornings, and only come out when she is sick, or really tired, or Saturdays, or when she is cranky... umm. yeah. So they make there appearances often! Here is the result of such love. Do you see that 18 inch scar down the middle? Yup, that's what happens when you are sooo loved. I had to hand sew it, because my sewing machine was eating the fragile fabric around the big giant hole.

These corners have wiped tears, snot and yes, even vomit. Sorry, but its true. This blankie has helped this dear one through many sad days, bad days, and gone along for bike rides on good days.

To bring myself through this dreadfully tedious task of stitching this worn friend, I had to think about the symbolism of this dear one. This blanket proudly bears the scars of carrying its loved one through good times and bad. It comforts and soothes when nothing else will do. It has been beaten and battered and tossed to the ground. It has been forgotten and thrown aside during the easy times. It has always been there to be picked up again, ready to start the loving over.

I can't help but reminded of the scars that Jesus proudly wears. His wounds there because he has helped us through those horrible times, he carried our sins, he brought us through. He has been beaten and battered and too often tossed aside when life is going well. He is there to pick us back up again when we need Him. He is always waiting with love. He joins us on the journey, no matter where it leads.

Maybe its a stretch to relate a torn up tattered blankie with our Savior, but I need visuals, and this is my visual. Like looking through the scrapbook, you can look back on your life and play "where's waldo" and see that Jesus was there on every page. He may have been off to the side when we didn't know it, but he was there. Every time.

We all need mending from time to time, and our Heavenly Father is there, to carefully stitch us back together. He does so with love, allowing the scars to be seen so that we may not forget what brought us there.