“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” ~ Matthew 5:48 ESV
Perfect? Try as I might, nothing I do is ever perfect. Which makes this verse from Christ’s teaching even harder to wrestle with. Why would He ask me to be perfect when in reality it is not possible for me, a mere human, to achieve perfection in this sinful world? God is absolute perfection, so it would seem unreasonable to require imperfect people to achieve perfection.
“For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” ~James 1:3-4
Christ is calling his children to be perfect, but do not despair at this daunting task. In Greek, the term “perfection” can also be translated as “maturity.” Throughout the Bible, the meaning of perfection is synonymous with completeness or wholeness. We are not perfect, but as followers of Christ, we are encouraged to develop spiritual maturity and seek perfection.
This is my little sister, Sierra. Seeing the joy on her face when she received her quilt makes all the time and challenges in finishing this quilt worth it!
I am not the only person who struggles with the desire to be perfect, and quilting is no different! It would be so wonderful if every corner matched perfectly, every stitch was even, every quilt had no hiccups… However, I find there is a beauty in the imperfections of each quilt. Whenever we found a mistake, always too late to fix it, Gramma use to tell me that it just let all the bad luck out of the quilt. That may not be true, but imperfection in a quilt is a beautiful reflection of the imperfection in us. However, the quilt is still complete. It is beautiful in design and provides warmth, comfort, and joy to those who receive it. Despite its imperfections, the quilt fulfills its purpose.
It does not matter whether we can achieve moral perfection or not in this lifetime, but the bible encourages us to seek perfection. We become spiritually mature when we are tested, when we pray, and when we spend time in the word. Paul, the apostle, said “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” We are only made perfect through Jesus Christ: “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy” ~ Hebrews 10:10-14
This quilt was started by my Gramma for my youngest sister, Sierra. The green and gold colors are for her High School. It was finished upon my Gramma’s death by her good friend, Sharon Thompson, and I quilted it. The main part of the quilt has feathers and swirls quilted on it. Each corner has something different. As you see in the pictures below, there are my sister’s initials and a soccer ball for her favorite sport.
I hope you all enjoy seeing and creating beautiful quilts! If you have projects or even a Biblical topic that you would like to see on the blog, please reach out to me! Thank you to everyone who supports me in my quilting projects, and special thanks to Grandma Sharon for helping create this special quilt for my sister!
Quilt Bus 
Thanks for sharing, Hunter, it is so beautiful, and I know your sister, Sierra, will love and treasure her special quilt started by your grandmother, Bonnie Ruecker, Sharon Thompson, and you, Hunter Rice, and I know that each stitch was made with love. Love you, Carolyn E. Elliott, Zach’s great aunt, his grandmother, Mary Alice Ezell Beauchamp’s, youngest sister.
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Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
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