God Provides (The Fabric): A Devotional Thought

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 NIV

As I continue to learn about quilt history, I am amazed by the clever ways that quilters reused fabrics from everyday life in their quilts. In World War 1, tobacco flannels were used to make a very decorative quilt top. In Texas oil country in the 1930's, a creative quilter used fabric oil field maps to make her quilts. While she tried to bleach out the map markings, her efforts weren't entirely successful, leaving us with a unique piece of history sewn into her quilts. The 1930's were a time when everything was used and reused. With this in mind, feed sack makers started putting beautiful prints on their sacks. These sacks were then reused into dresses and quilts. (Read a great article here.) Even today, quilters rarely throw scraps away, electing to save them for a scrap quilt and T-shirt quilts are a popular way to reuse favorite T-shirts that aren't worn anymore.

An example of a collection of feed sacks from the 1930's made into a quilt. Photo curtesy of Too Cool T-Shirt Quilts.

These quilters didn't need a fancy fabric store to provide for these beautiful quilts. They used what they had, added a bit of creativity, and made some of the most spectacular and cherished quilts I've ever seen. I'd like to think that God provided for them when and where they needed to create these quilts that graced their beds and warmed their hearts.

During the sermon on the mount, Jesus explains how we should store our treasures in heaven rather than on earth, then he goes on to encourage us not to worry about our earthly life. He illustrates it in two ways: The birds don't have to worry about food, God provides for them; and the flowers don't have to worry about clothes, God created them with beauty.

I'd like to think that I can also look at the quilts from my ancestors as well. Did God not provide them with the fabrics and skills to create these works of love? Think about it… The idea of a printed pattern was only just starting to take hold. There were no fabric stores with hundreds of fabrics to choose from and every fancy accessory you could think of. The internet wasn't even a thing! Yet some of the most challenging and iconic quilts are from the 1930's or earlier.

Jesus commands us to first seek God and his kingdom and, as a blessing, he will provide all that we need in our daily life. I encourage you to read Matthew 5. Jesus tells us exactly how we should seek God's Kingdom in our life. When we do, we reap more than we ever bargained for. Beautiful fabrics, check. Creativity, check. Skills, check. If you're new to quilting, trust that God has provided you with some of the best resources you could ever have. God has also provided us with the best resource to guide us in this life, the bible.

As I continue to read about past quilters, I see how God provided not only fabric to provide warmth in the winter but also an abundance of creativity and beauty as well. Will he not do the same in your life as well?

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