Quilts and grandchildren.  In 2012 Lutheran World Relief challenged Lutherans in the U.S. to make and send 500,000 - yes, a half million - quilts for people in need, especially those on the move in war-torn countries.  I took on the challenge with my grandchildren to help them understand that they can make a difference. 

They selected the fabrics and I cut the squares.  They placed the squares into a pattern and I sewed them together.  They were struck by the fact the quilts were beautiful and could easily be used on their own beds. Instead, each quilt will likely be used as a baby carrier, a market display for vegetables, a sunshade, a sack for transporting goods or even to define home in a refugee camp.  We tied the quilt in faith, sent them in hope and enjoy knowing that someone is wrapped in love.

Shawls and my mother.  However, all of this took on new meaning when I recently flew back to my childhood home to be with my 93 year old mother on her hospice journey through the last two weeks of life.  One of her friends brought a prayer shawl knit by ladies from her church.  My mother wore it often and truly felt wrapped in prayer and love.  When she died the family decided to keep her wrapped in that shawl.

The quilt and the shawl were just things, but they took on greater significance because of the care that was invested in them.  Making quilts with grandchildren or walking down the hospice path with my mother who was wrapped in a prayer shawl, both activities were transformed from an ordinary task into the more mysterious world of the sacred.