What fun it is to select cross stitch projects for the year! I am not sure why, but there is no doubt that the planning, kitting, and starting feels like opening a Christmas present. I've had the chart for Many Mansions for about 20 years, but just started it a couple of years ago. I've done it on an oatmeal Aida 16 ct. I really prefer linen, but there are times when I need a low light project and the Aida is just right.
(OT: philosophy alert )I have always loved this verse from the Bible. I don't know what heaven will be like, but the Bible tells us that we are made for Heaven, so it will suit us perfectly. [The Bible also tells us that if we believe that Christ died for our sins and accept him into our hearts, we know we will be with Him in Heaven. I add that caveat because I don't want people to think I am being over confident when I say that I know I will go to Heaven.]
So what is this needleworker's idea of heaven? Well, first, it will be like...Heaven! No more newspapers articles about 12 year old boys forced to be soldiers, no children being abused, no Middle East crisis, or terrorists...none of those things that make our planet a horror. Second, we will be with the God who loves us unconditionally and fills every self-doubting corner of our hearts with love. It will be like living with a perfect lover whom we are able to worship with every fiber of our being. We were made for this relationship with God and it will be far more wonderful than anything we can imagine.
Fourth, which gets it's own paragraph, is the ramblings of my imagination. When I see a beautiful photograph of some place on this earth that I will never get to, I console myself with the idea that I will have eternity to see every inch of this awesome world. I have the idea that God is not going to just scrap this planet when we have reached the brink of destruction. I like to think that it will be there for us to explore forever. We'll get to see the fantastic creations of God which only He sees now; things like beautiful sea shells that lie on the bottom of the ocean, lovely alpine meadows of wild flowers that live and die beyond the eyes of humans and my favorite image from poetry, "a host of golden daffodils." And, then, there will be the needlework projects that I can't manage to do in my lifetime. When I leave a beautiful chart in the rack at my favorites LNS, I console myself with the idea that I have all eternity to stitch to my heart's content; and maybe in Heaven, needles won't get lost and specialty fibers won't slither off my needle or fray.
Whatever Heaven really is, I know that it will fill the longings of my heart in every way. I know I am made for Heaven and it will be a perfect fit, so I content myself with the knowledge that if needlework is not part of Heaven, the longings in my heart when I see a new chart and the joy of stitching that I feel now will be filled with pleasures that go beyond the joy that stitching brings to me now.
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