My daughter
in law, Danielle, is dear to me. My son
chose her, and she adores him. She is the mother of my first beloved
granddaughter, and she is the most kind and patient mother I have ever seen.
My fondest memories of Danielle came from
an extended stay they had with us in Holland, Michigan. I think that was the time I saw her most
relaxed and at peace with herself.
During that time, she would just sing out when her heart was happy, no
self-consciousness, just joy. I have
always been intimidated to sing out loud.
Danielle has a sweet and lovely voice.
My skills are more like the proverbial “can’t carry a tune in a
bucket.” But from her I learned to just
sing it out when I feel it. I have
stopped being embarrassed by my lack of skill, just show the joy inside.
It was thrill to me when she took up
quilting. It is fun to have that in
common. In Holland my quilting area was
in the basement. She and I had tables
set up where we could sew at the same time.
We continue to enjoy showing each other our latest creations and
discussing our plans.
From Danielle I learned to count the
actual time spent on a quilt. Before I
just knew I worked a week on that one, 3 weeks on that one, etc. But she counts the actual hours. That’s discipline. Danielle is probably the most disciplined
person I know. If I am going to make quilts
to sell, I need to know how much time I spent.
So, I have lately begun to follow her lead and log my time. That is how I know her quilt took 78 hours
not counting the times I lay awake at night thinking about it. She is worth every minute and more.
Danielle causes me to reflect on
myself. I would often see something in
her that would cause me to see myself. I
saw our similarities. It took me a long
time to see our differences and part of that came from her pointing them out to
me.
Here is the metaphor I have for the two of
us. I am a bubbling stream. I’m not deep, you can see the bottom and know
what is there. There are a few nooks and
crannies that hide little creatures, but it is mostly transparent. I’m mostly cheerful. I take things at face value. There are storms that cause me to swell and
churn, leaving some rocks moved and banks eroded, but when they are over, I’m
pretty much the same.
Danielle is a deep ocean. Our life experiences have been very
different. I have the luxury of being shallow and transparent. She does not have that luxury. She has many layers that have different
temperature zones, light zones and different creatures abiding in each. On sunny days she is a beautiful azure. Then there are gray stormy days when she is
clouded over, waves are tossed, and things from the deep surface.
If you met Danielle, you would know right
away she is beautiful. It would not take
long before you would perceive that she is extremely intelligent. But as I have known her for 10 years, the word
that comes to my mind to describe her is overcomer. She has grown and developed in so many ways
over the past 10 years. She has looked
into the depth of her soul in ways few people are brave enough to do and
allowed herself to be transformed.
Monsters from the deep threaten to pull her under, but she fights for
the light. She fights to overcome; to
overcome evil with good; overcome hate with love; overcome cruelty with
kindness and gentleness; overcome chaos with shalom.
She has been willing to share with me some
of these battles so that I can understand her more intimately. It only causes me to love her more deeply.
So as I spent the hours on a quilt to wrap
her in love, acceptance and shalom, I have prayed for her. Another experience we have had together was
being able to attend Ray Vander Laan Bible classes. From those we heard about the world being
plunged into chaos and God’s spirit moving to bring shalom. The call of Christians is to bring shalom to
a chaotic world. So, I have prayed
continually for God’s shalom for her.
The Hebrew expresses much more than peace as in absence of war. It expresses peace, wholeness, wellness,
prosperity in mind, soul and body.
So, Danielle, here on your birthday I want
you to know I am constantly amazed at what I have seen God do in your
life. Constantly amazed at the changes
you have allowed and incorporated.
Constantly amazed at your discipline.
Constantly amazed at your transformation. And constantly amazed that it continues day
after day after day.
Shalom my dear daughter of the heart.
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