"The Handmade Oriental Quilt"
//I think, that it is
important
to notice
and value
the little things in life.
When you're poor, a quilt
you made by hand as a teenager
can enclose
within it
hope
meaning
purpose
faith
and all the little miracles that
that make us feel joy
where once that quilt i made
was but a dream,
a dream about a dream,
that i stitched by deliberate hand
it took a year
back then, i was too rich
and spoiled to
to appreciate the ornate beauty
and secrets lying within
every single ingeniusly
placed patch.  The Work of my hands
My writings
My Paintings
The Ones I Take Care of, nurture and protect
the small acts of kindness and due diligence
every day...to me, now,
that quilt is a priceless heirloom
and it gives my faith in God
and hope, great hope, enormous hope!
and it gives me strength
for it was made of love, by love,
for someone i love though i still have it
i am so grateful to have it,
not only because its extraordinary, but
because its all i have left to remember
her by!
In closing, You Don't Ask The Good Lord
How To Do His Business.  His Plans
are not our Plans His Ways
are not our ways.  just focus
on you own individual life, what
can you do to make it a better place
a better home,
a better world.  The fruit of one's hands
is, perhaps, the most powerful testimony
that the IS A God, Who Loves Us,
And Has Plans And Reasons Beyond our individual lives
That there is something bigger than us, something
that we need to each contribute to individually,
in our lives, for My Own Personal Visions
and Creations that Embody, to me,
Goodness, Happiness, and Love.
I pray that if I am lucky enough to grow Old,
I pray that reading my books will be a great source of joy
comfort, memories, and hope and faith, and that the writings
themselves, in my own reading them as an old person
or if i am ever in need
or in doubt
or in pain-- that my writings may bring
Great, Deep Comfort To Theodore's and My Souls.
When We're Old, Lord---We Can Look back
on fruit flies and dirty dishes
and say, "Don't cry over spilled milk"
and praise God.  For He is Good.
In JEsus' Name, I Pray,
Amen.