I know a quilter. When there is a rough patch in the life of a friend, she fashions a handmade quilt with colors and patterns befitting of the soul in need of comfort and a safe place to wrap up and mend whatever ails them.
She is selfless and dedicates time best spent on sleep and other life callings, but regardless…the quilts are created, lives are made to be filled with the things conducive to peace of mind, healing, and a general feeling of being embraced and cradled with love…
A couple years ago, she prepared one such quilt for a dear friend of both of us who was fighting the good fight, and eventually received his reward at an age much too young. He did in fact sleep under this quilt until the end…
Safe harbor from life’s storms …in our school colors.
I wrote this piece to introduce him to the gift from her…
This quilt…
This quilt is a river, it is a song. Every stitch is a ripple, a line that soothes your soul. This quilt is a memory within every square…a moment in time when you need us there. The colors are smiles and laughter…midnights and dawn. This quilt is a promise, a wish, and prayer.
There ought not be a time when you feel abandoned…the proof of love from your friends is folded right there…and when you perhaps need a little more, lay it over your needs, your questions…and fears…
There is love in every stitch, a moment in time can be found in the patches…This is meant to close in the miles, draw together the years…to shelter you from the gathering clouds if a storm should be near.
This quilt is a comfort when you might need refuge from any doubt…it is a place where your friends gather and keep you close, keep you safe, and keep you warm.
This is a buffer for you come chills of winter or trials of life…like the presence of family or friend from the descending of night to the approach of morn…
This quilt is a river like the one near which you grew…This quilt is a song to keep in your heart, so you know God is on vigil watching over you. In the dead of winter, or the long days of summer…be it for warmth or a picnic on the ground…keep it near to you, to keep us near to you…and remember…This quilt is yours to keep always…as is the silence of your forest, the flow of that river…and the love of your friends…Keep it nearby…and be assured our bond is without end.. M&B
Whether you make home on a mountain or the flats by the sea, there is a patchwork of reassurance and comfort there folded and ready to bring a hug from afar, no matter where you are…
Matthew Lyle Landsman 