Last summer I ran into my favorite antiques dealer at Wal-Mart. He told me about an estate sale he would be conducting during the upcoming weekend. The deceased woman had been into many crafts including quilting. He told me that there were at least 15 crates full of fabric remnants. He asked me to spread the word. I did but I also grabbed a quilting friend and went to the sale.
He was right. There was an incredible amount of fabric to browse through. There were also an incredible amount of women sorting through the fabric. The word had definitely got out. Some fabric was just the way she had brought it home, uncut and untouched. Some had been cut into strips or squares. Some had been cut, pieced and sewn together. There were a small number of finished quilt fronts just waiting for the backing to be attached.
There was also a large quantity of other craft materials. They too were in a variety of finished stages. Several women commented on the fact that they were buying this woman’s unfinished work to bring home to throw in the closet with their own unfinished projects. This brought an uneasy laugh from the crowd. We felt the truth of that statement.
The mood was somber as we respectfully rifled through her treasures. It was easy to see how important these things had been to her. It was also easy to see how very unimportant they were to her now. The words “unfinished business” kept popping into my head. The incomplete craft projects were a stark reminder that life is too short to do all that one would like to do. I was hoping that she hadn’t left other more important “unfinished business” behind.
I don’t think we waste much time in the hereafter mourning the projects we never completed. But we probably spend a considerable amount of time mourning the “unfinished business” of relationships gone bad, kind words left unsaid, generous deeds left undone, hurtful words that we never took back, hours of time wasted on anything but the people we love.
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.”
Take some time during this week of love to check on your heart’s treasures. Are they safe? That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?
He was right. There was an incredible amount of fabric to browse through. There were also an incredible amount of women sorting through the fabric. The word had definitely got out. Some fabric was just the way she had brought it home, uncut and untouched. Some had been cut into strips or squares. Some had been cut, pieced and sewn together. There were a small number of finished quilt fronts just waiting for the backing to be attached.
There was also a large quantity of other craft materials. They too were in a variety of finished stages. Several women commented on the fact that they were buying this woman’s unfinished work to bring home to throw in the closet with their own unfinished projects. This brought an uneasy laugh from the crowd. We felt the truth of that statement.
The mood was somber as we respectfully rifled through her treasures. It was easy to see how important these things had been to her. It was also easy to see how very unimportant they were to her now. The words “unfinished business” kept popping into my head. The incomplete craft projects were a stark reminder that life is too short to do all that one would like to do. I was hoping that she hadn’t left other more important “unfinished business” behind.
I don’t think we waste much time in the hereafter mourning the projects we never completed. But we probably spend a considerable amount of time mourning the “unfinished business” of relationships gone bad, kind words left unsaid, generous deeds left undone, hurtful words that we never took back, hours of time wasted on anything but the people we love.
Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.”
Take some time during this week of love to check on your heart’s treasures. Are they safe? That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?
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