Labors of Love.

This is the sewing machine my mother passed down to me. She purchased it with her very first paycheck from her very first job out in the "real" world and it is now over 50 years old. I'm not sure how many items she crafted on this machine, but I'd guess hundreds. The list includes dress shirts for dad, outfits for us kids, Barbie clothes, Cabbage Patch kids (yes, actual dolls) and even her wedding dress. My mom didn't just know how to sew...I'd call her a seamstress. She could make everything out of anything, and she did. I, on the other hand, can hardly sew a straight line, but I like to make things so I guess she thought I might get some use out of it.  Admittedly I haven't used the sewing machine all that much, but I was recently inspired to make a strip quilt for Benjamin.

A few days ago I went to the fabric store and carefully selected my fabric especially for my son. Then I painstakingly cut and arranged the strips of cloth until they were in just the right order. After all of my planning was done, I began the process of pinning, ironing, sewing, pinning, ironing, sewing, pinning, ironing, sewing, and so on. As I pressed the peddle with my foot and carefully pushed the fabric through the machine, I smiled to myself thinking of all of the love my mom poured out to her family on this old Singer and how special it is that now I am using that same machine to lovingly make a quilt for her grandson.

When I was a child I was thrilled when mom made me that Cabbage Patch doll, but I never really understood why she worked so hard to make things for all of us on this old machine. Now that I am a wife and a mother I get it. I know why my mom sewed. I know why she cooked and cleaned and did endless amounts of laundry. I know why she prayed for us every day and took the time to teach us about Jesus. Love. It was all a labor of love. The tasks she enjoyed and the ones she didn't she did out of love for us. Thank you, Mom, for everything you tenderly sewed into our family and for showing me how to do the same for mine.