Prayer Shawls, God's Will and one stubborn Cheryl

Tonight the Lord was truly on the second floor of the Material Girl Quilt Shop in Reedville VA!  I have thought for the past 18 months that God had decided to move me (a little unwillingly I might add) to The Northern Neck of Virginia to help start a "crisis" pregnancy center to give girls and women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy a place to go for help.  However, after 3 hours tonight on the second floor of the Material Girl Quilt Shop I have to wonder if that pregnancy center was really my will and just maybe not God's.  Tonight was the first meeting of a new group (we forgot to name ourselves) of ladies who love to quilt and eat.  There were 7 of us tonight; from Episcopalians, to Baptists, to Methodists, to even someone that doesn't attend church right now, but all alike in our desire to quilt prayer shawls for hurting people.  We are an ecumenical group of ladies (from 18 to ah shucks, somethings are just not necessary to reveal) brought together by God's hand in His timing.  We prayed, we talked, we laughed, we ate and at next month's meeting we plan to even sew! Afterall, that was the whole point of getting together tonight - to sew prayer shawls.  We just didn't realize how many things had to be ironed out first - haha get it - ironed out? Ok, so I'm a little punch happy after a very long hot day! 


About 5 years ago, just by chance (haha we all know it really wasn't chance!!) I was substituting in an office of the Gettysburg High School and there was a lady who was crocheting a prayer shawl during her lunch break.  I was intrigued and immediately a sweet church member that was dying of cancer came to my mind.  Off to the store that night for yarn, I began my journey with prayer shawls.  Two weeks later, I delivered it to their house only days before she died; her family was so touched by the prayers and I was hooked on making prayer shawls.   It gives me a way of touching people when I don't have the words to.  Months later we had changed churches but again, a dear lady received a cancer diagnosis.  You know the lady at church that knows everyone and everything going on?   That was Ginny. Once again, I was deeply moved by how touched someone was from simply 3 skeins of yarn bound together with prayers for their recovery.  It seems like such a small thing.  I learned a very valuable lesson that next week.  Never mention an idea to the pastor if you don't want to do it!  Well 2 and a half years, 100 shawls later, when I was called to move 4 hours away, I had to leave behind a wonderful group of  energetic, talented ladies that had knitted, crocheted, and woven many many prayers into beautiful treasures for hurting, sick, and grieving people. 


Fast forward to my first year on "The Neck".  I was so sure of God's will for me that I have kept ignoring what I now think has been His will all along.   Prayer shawls, prayer shawls and more prayer shawls.   Over the past year, I supplied our pastor with a few prayer shawls anonymously.  Well, one of the first things to learn in a small community where everyone is either related to, married in to the family or friends with them is that nothing is anonymous!  Still sure that I was not supposed to start another prayer shawl ministry, I have kept plugging along trying to figure out how to get this other thing going.  At my church, there are already 2 ladies (plus me)  making prayer shawls and yet I have still been sure that I wasn't supposed to do prayer shawls, because there was this other ministry that God wanted me to start!


Fast forward once again to a "chance" day at the quilt shop when everything fell into place at once to line up this meeting tonight where 7 woman gathered and prayed, and talked, and laughed, and ate, and planned together to do God's will.  


And tonight I felt close to God; more so then any day since I moved here.  Funny how that happens when you stop running from Him!