What surprised me this week?
I'm not very good at responding to comments left on my blog or sweet emails sent to request patterns, but the kind words often expressed in those messages are always appreciated. It's such a compliment to know that I have made someone happy by sharing a pattern or an idea. It makes my day.
The messages that I receive from readers that are most precious to me, however, are those that mention my spirituality or religion. Sometimes I receive these emails after a reader has hit the "I'm a Mormon" button on my sidebar, and read a little about my spiritual journey. Within the last two weeks, I've received two of these emails. Both women were not members of my religion and were raised Catholic. One said "although our faiths have different traditions, I can identify with how you have expressed your faith and can feel your joy." The other email was written by a woman who has served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Combat Medic. As a medic she's seen a lot of man's inhumanity to man. She said, "When I started exploring the Internet for ways to cut costs, preserve food, be a better parent and get into sewing it seems the majority of the sites I gravitated to were run by women of the Mormon faith. There have been times at 3:00 am, unable to sleep that I have wandered through bookmarked sites simply reading posts and drinking in the peace and calm that flowed from the screen...Your blog site is one I am drawn to often, and felt compelled to let you know how positive and joyful an impact it has had on my life."
I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciated these heartfelt messages. They came as tender mercies at a time when I need them most. My faith is something that I keep tucked deep in my heart. Because it is occasionally misunderstood or purposefully maligned, I am protective of it. Because it has brought so much joy into my life, it is the one thing I most love to share. It's a dichotomy to be sure.
What moved me this week?
"I have had prayers answered. Those answers were most clear when what I wanted was silenced by an overpowering need to know what God wanted. It is then that the answer from a loving Heavenly Father can be spoken to the mind by the still, small voice and can be written on the heart."
