At the end of my life as I waited to face my Saviour at the judgment seat,
I knelt before the Lord with all the other souls in our
new white robes. Lying before each of us were the scenes of our lives like the squares of a quilt stacked high in many piles;
there was an angel in front of every pile sewing the quilt squares together into a tapestry that was our lives.  As my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and full of large holes each piece was. Each square had a label which
denoted a part of my life. When I faced temptations and challenges there were many holes and when I endured hardships the holes were the largest.
I tried to remember how I had failed so miserably. I looked around me only to see most of the other quilts were being sewn together so neatly with only small holes here and there. A lot of the
other quilts were filled with rich color and bright hues of worldly fortune to present to the King. I gazed upon my own life and wondered what
I was going to have to give the King. My angel kept sewing the ragged pieces of quilt together, threadbare and empty, like stitching air.  Finally the angels finished and the time had come for each life quilt to be displayed and presented, held up to the light of His countenance the
scrutiny of truth. The others rose before me each in their turn holding up their tapestries each one so bright and beautiful so filled their lives
had been. My angel looked upon me and nodded for me to rise.I rose slowly with my quilt but could not bring my eyes to look up, so great was my shame. I hadn't accomplished great things or earned earthly
fortunes. Oh I had loved and been loved in my life and had times of joy and laughter but there had been many times of great trials, many illnesses
and many great temptations which I had overcome. I had many trials where I had to start over and often struggled with the temptation to quit,
only to somehow gain the strength to pick up and begin again. My failures glared out at me and reminded me how unworthy I was.  I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance always needing the Lord's strength to overcome my weakness. I had often
been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not fail beneath the judgmental
stare of those who unfairly condemned me.The time had come to face the truth. My life was exactly what it was and I had to finally accept it for what it was. I slowly raised my eyes as I
lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air around me. I looked around at the others who stared at me
with wide eyes. Then, I looked upon the tapestry I held up before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image of the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood
before me and with warmth and love in His voice, He said, "Every time you gave over your life to me it became My life, My hardships and My
struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you!"
 It's the weak who need the strength of the Saviour! It's the broken who need to be mended! It's the lost who need to be found! It's you and I who Jesus came to save because we couldn't save ourselves! When there is nothing left in your life but God that is when you find out that God is all you will ever need. This story came to me
signed "Author Unknown"; I have
rewritten it to incorporate my own style but hope I have
stayed true to the original author's intent and meaning. Bob
Goulding © February 2007 |
