Today's "Lent Encouragement" is by Teresa.

I love to make patchwork quilts in my spare time, so I decided that lockdown would be a good time to make another. But without the joy of going to fabric shops to choose the materials in person, I thought I would try to make one out of all the scraps I had left over from other projects. At about the same time, I was reading a novel in which a quilt had become a family heirloom. The woman who had inherited it was fascinated by the history that it told, but she was particularly struck that the thread holding it all together was like the thread of God’s love woven into the family’s history. As I started out with my pile of scrap pieces of fabric, I realised that what I had didn’t look like much. It felt like the scraps of our lives – not much to look at and easily disregarded. But as I joined them together and they started to create something beautiful, I was reminded of verses 13 & 14 of Psalm 139, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” It is as if God takes the scraps of our lives, our brokenness and worthlessness and creates them into something truly beautiful. He sees the value in us and loves us enough to take the time to weave Himself into our lives that we might reflect His glory. And the patchwork quilt is also a beautiful metaphor for our church – not the building, but the people who make it special. We come in all shapes, sizes and ages. We all have different histories and baggage. But when God draws us together, we become His beautiful Church.

The photograph shows just a section of Teresa's scrap quilt. You can read the whole of Psalm 139 here.