tapestry II

Last August I wrote the following post about a tapestry.
Last night I was given a tapestry inspired specifically by the journey Nede and I are on. It was created for us by a friend, one I hadn't met until receiving this gift. I believe it was prayed over while the wool was spun and dyed and woven together. It's a masterpiece I will treasure forever. It will be a constant reminder of the people who have so blessed my life and a special reminder of these treasured months I've had in the States. These  months have been especially about reconnecting and cherishing friendships. It's been a whirlwind but I've rejoiced in every day of it! As I unwind from another fantastic night with yet a different group of friends, I am moved by the honor it is that so many, so many! people are with us. The love and support that's been poured over me (us) by old friends, new friends and faithful family is worth a lifetime of love! It's been such a special time. Such. A. Special. Time. My tapestry was gorgeous before but now, after this time, the colors are vibrant, I'm walking taller, I'm renewed and refreshed. I continue to smile and end each day thanking the Lord for the journey I'm on, the tapestry of my life that's being woven and the friends that make it a masterpiece! Thank you treasured friends!!! ALL MY LOVE!!!!

(Post from August 2012)

Several times I have thought of my life as a tapestry. A woven treasure with different people making it a divine piece of art. Each person adds something different to my life, sharing their colors at the perfect time in different places. Some people have been steadfast friends for years and years. Others have been more sporatic, coming and going in my life as time and the course of life obliges causing a dotted effect, adding to the beauty. There have been some that are long and steady threads that saw me through some of the hardest times, but time with them was always my most joyous. There are others that I was blessed to walk along side while they went through challenging times. Still there are others that walked with me for very brief periods but their impact on me was a bold color that still lights up my life upon reflection. Of course there's my family, immediate and extended, that are steady-- not always frequent encounters but always there, always praying, always in my heart. And then there's the Nede thread that I never went looking for but now is of utmost influence. It may have started off as a gentle pastel but is now growing breadth and radiance as she grows and influences my life more and more with each passing day.
Now, since living in Mozambique, the threads are often shorter-- the daily encounters are concentrated in shorter periods of time as often occurs in a transient environment of the expatriot world. So far, some of these relationships have been of utmost importance to me and my little family here. Nede and I have had some of the most incredible people walking with us through some quite difficult times.

Even though some threads seem to be changing directions and even feel to be off my tapestry, the impact they've made in strengthening the fibers of my being will never disappear. It seems if I were to construct this tapesty today, there would be a fade of color, not that the relationships are gone, they're just more out of touch, the shades are growing fainter as the distance takes away from the vibrancy of the art.

As much as I hate these times of change and adjustment I do stand in awe-- in awe of the support and love that I've had around me in so many different times and places of life. The number of deep, cherished relationships that I have in my life are of most worthy praise and gratitude.  

Of course there are a few fibers that I wish I could change in my tapestry-- relationships that I wish I had handled differently, relationships that had to end or change because of distance and heart issues, I wish they  were still adding to the design. I guess this may be part of the beauty though-- living and learning, allowing myself to be changed by each perfect weave. 

I suppose one day I'll be able to illustrated this in a more tangible way. I hope I can because the number of beautiful threads that pour into me is one incredible rainbow. And now, in a time of gray, I pray for that sunny spring day to come where more colors will enter my life and walk with me continuing to color and creating a dramatic tapestry that helps to construct me.
Dear friends who have come and gone, thanks for pouring into me. Thanks for loving me, believing in me, walking with me, drying my tears and encouraging me to keep on keeping on. Your rays of love paint my sky with hope. WE LOVE YOU!