TIES THAT BIND

Over the past week, my time was divided between many different events and tasks, thus there was little time for stitching.

The beginning of the week met with being a Crew Leader at our annual Vacation Bible School. This year's theme, Power Lab, was a pretty popular choice among area churches and ours was no exception. I have to admit in all the years of my working with Bible school, this year proved to be one of the most exciting for both children and adults alike. As much as I enjoy helping out with this wonderful event, I couldn't help but feel as though I was neglecting my cross-stitching. (Okay...so I know nothing is supposed to take precedence above our Lord & Savior...especially when it comes to doing His work.) But the human side of me wanted to be at home stitching each night. It hasn't been that long ago when I picked my cross-stitching back up after more than a decade, so I wanted to be a little bit selfish in spite of my good deeds last week. I guess the war between good versus evil never ends. :)

Try as I might to steal a few stitches here and there through the course of the week, it was not to be!!! My week quickly turned into the weekend and I was off to travel out of town on Friday with my mom & youngest daughter to be with my aunt who was having a complete hysterectomy done as a result of being diagnosed just two weeks before with Stage 1 Cervical cancer. She came through the surgery without incident even though the surgeon found an undiagnosed tumor that first lab tests showed no invasion of cancer & there was no evidence of cancer having spread to the lymph nodes; which was incredibly good news! Time will tell as to what my aunt's recovery process will hold, but we are praying for her full recovery.

Then Friday went into Saturday and I was off to my family reunion on my dad's side. This reunion is held every two years and it is a wonderful tribute to my grandparents who were the glue that held my family together when they were living. My grandmother on this side is the same grandmother who I mentioned in an earlier post that was responsible for my learning to crochet and cross-stitch. She was very big on family and prided herself on the fact that she & my grandfather had a huge family that they were the patriarchs of! It is without a doubt that each time our family comes together for this gathering, my grandparents are smiling down upon us in their proudest moment in time. These reunions are a wonderful reminder of times past when we as a family would come together to celebrate holidays or one of my grandparents many milestone anniversarys. It also is an awakening to the fact that now that my grandparents have passed on, that those next in line to pass on will be the next generation (my aunts and uncles). While a couple of my aunts and uncles have already made it into their 70's, I'm reminded each time I attend one of these reunions, that time does not stand still and that sooner rather than later we will all one day meet with the end of our roads in time.

(There I am sitting on the end. My youngest daughter, Hannah, is sitting next to my dad & step-mom. On the back row is my oldest daughter, Megan, my son, Cameron & my step-brother, Nathan, his wife, Janelle and their 4 month old son, Caiden. LOVE MY FAMILY!)

Family has become a very important thing for me personally. With the graduation of my oldest daughter from high school in June, never has it been more apparent than this year alone just how quickly the years have clicked off one by one; and how fast time seems to accelerate as it moves constantly and consistently forward. It has truly made me cherish the family time that I do have. Our time is limited and we never know what tomorrow will hold.

(Here are my wonderful 3, Megan-17, Cameron-13, & Hannah-10)

So...another week has gone by and all was not lost. I did manage to get a little cross-stitching done on Sunday night after a long day of playing catch up on chores and the like that had been put to the side to make way for all the other week's activities. But suffice it to say, as anxious as I was to stitch, nothing could possibly compare to the feeling of being among family I had not seen since our last reunion two years before, or the fact that I was doing something worthwhile and pleasing to our Father above.

Maybe we cross-stitch enthusiasts love the craft so much because each cross-stitch we make is tied together to create a pattern. When one thinks of a cross-stitch being made by crossing two stitches, it is very much like that in life. We cross paths with people, be it family or friends who leave an impression on our lives. We think of the Man who died on a cross for our sins. Just as the ties that bind our SAL's, WIP's & UFO's together, the same can be said for the ties that connect us all.