I made this cowl for a long distance friend who tragically lost her 3 month only baby. I call it "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow Cowl". Since I am slow at everything else, in order to get something to her quickly, it had to be a small project with a big yarn-so summer, shmummer, she gets a bulky cowl. I used this pattern- two skeins of yarn-which made it pretty short. I wish I had three matching skeins but I didn't. Oh well.
When someone I love is feeling pain, I like to get my hands dirty and DO SOMETHING to try and ease it. Make a meal. Do some laundry for them. Pick a bouquet to brighten a day. It is done to ease some of the pain for said person, but in a very real and mysterious way, it also eases the pain that I feel. It allows me to channel that pain into something worthwhile- or maybe it escapes through my fingertips? But when you live many hours away you can't just bring over a meal or flowers. I was struggling quite a bit with it, actually.
The same week I heard about my friend, I read the article Tickets of Grace which was a beautiful reminder that little things really do matter- sometimes more than we know. And I was reminded of that book that I recently read, that was given to me, that maybe she needed to read too. So a project and a package were born.
I pray they are tiny little tickets to her.
(Note: it was mentioned to me this week that people couldn't comment unless signing in to Google+ or something like that- barring perfectly wonderful readers who avoid Google+ from writing anything. That was a mistake on my part-a matter of not realizing the repurcussions of checking a little box. It has now been resolved (I think!) so, should you like to comment, you should be able to do so. Sorry about that!
Would somebody try and comment and let me know if it works now? Thanks!)
How thoughtful of you, Rebecca! We had two tragedies in our family last week and one day I just went down and swept and mopped and made beds. I just had to do *something*. I love the cowl, that is true talent. I know your friend will be touched!
ReplyDeleteYou are a lovely friend! What a sweet gift. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree. Doing little things to brighten someone's day or help ease their pain matters a great deal!
ReplyDeleteI love it and it’s such a thoughtful gift. I made the mistake a couple of years ago of checking that little box, and I could never go back. A bunch of people who don’t have Google plus can no longer comment. 🙁
ReplyDeleteThere have been many times where I've felt almost selfish doing "stuff" for those who grieve, knowing as I did that it was mostly to help me process their sorrow and because the visible result it produced somehow made me feel as if I'd done more than did the mysterious work God accomplishes through our halting prayers, which, though efficacious, feel different for the giver than something tangible.
ReplyDeleteAfter Dad died, though, the prayers of God's saints were what upheld me, I'm sure of that, but the many tangible meals that people delivered, especially since wee had a houseful of company for two weeks, felt like hugs-- a visible manifestation of love.
My heart hurts for this family I don't know, for this mama whose heart bleeds. I will lift them in my prayers, and may God have mercy.
p.s. Your gifts are beautiful. May God use them-- your love packaged up-- to soothe some sorrow.
ReplyDeleteLovely of you to make the cowl for your friend, when I lost my mother I cut off a piece of the Pothos plant my mom had given me, I rooted the pieces for each of my siblings to have something living from our mother, my original plant is now 23 years old and has 5 large plants from it. I have started to give pieces to friends that feel the loss of a loved one. it may sound silly but I know from what friends have told me having that plant to care for really made a difference. For me at the time caring for my plants saved my life.
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