Gotcha Covered

Today at Church there were several crocheted or knitted shawls on the altar.  The pastor said a prayer over these shawls that they might touch the lives of those who received them. He talked about some that had recently been given away.  One was to one of our members who was dying.  She couldn’t speak but when she was told what it was and the love and prayers that were said as it was being made, she reached out her hand and fingered the material.  Another younger man in the nursing home recalled fond memories of Church when given his shawl.  Both received the love that was meant to be given through the gift.

I wouldn’t have know what a prayer shawl was, or what it meant, but for the fact that a couple of years ago, during a really rough time in my life when a relationship I was in ended and nothing seemed to be going my way, I was presented with a prayer shawl.  It’s on my bed now.  And though most of the time I don’t really even notice it, when I am particularly down about something, or feel like I’m all alone in the world I pick it up, wrap it around my shoulders and always feel better.

Much like the quilts my mom made that I treasure so much, the prayer shawl is something that I will keep always. It is a reminder to me, that a someone who didn’t know me well at all, recognized my need for prayers and comfort during a rough time and felt led to give me this gift.

On the card that came with it was this prayer:

“May this gift made for you with love
be a mantle and sign of God’s sustaining presence.
May it refresh your weariness;
Surround you with comfort in your suffering.
May it encircle you with healing for your pain;
Consolation for your loneliness.
May it bring you joy in sorrow or gladness.”

So many times, we are so wrapped up in our own problems and worries that we fail to recognize someone else’s pain.  The words of the card were exactly how I was feeling at the time, weary, in pain, lonely and sorrowful.   

We have a woman that knits lap blankets and brings them to us at our Hospice on a regular basis.  These are given to our patients, much like the prayer shawl.  A symbol that they are loved and cared for.  For these patients, in their last days this simple act of kindness and comfort means the world to them.  And when they pass, the blanket remains, for their loved ones to cherish.

Since I am craft challenged and can’t knit or crochet or sew, I can’t create these symbols of love and care.  The women and men who make these pray as they knit/crochet.  They pray for the person who is to receive it, not knowing who that may be.  With each stitch they are weaving love into the life of someone who needs a special touch. 

What I can do is be mindful of those around me.  I can offer my prayers, my words of comfort, my words of encouragement, or even find a way to make them laugh and for a moment forget their pain or sorrow.  I  can mean it when I say “if you need anything call me”.   

-Booker T. Washington

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.