Picture of love blog 10 'Fabric'

Our final guest blog for pictures of love before we come to Valentines week 2013 comes from one of the Venture FX Pioneers Lou Davis. She is based in Edinburgh and you can read about what she is doing here.

There’s something about fabric that sets my heart alight. Rolls and rolls of colour and pattern, texture and drape. I have to touch them, to feel the weight of the material, to begin the process of imagining. 

My favourite places are where the rolls are piled high, and I need to rummage to find jeweled treasures buried deep beneath the strata of linen and silk.

And when my eyes see something that resonates deep within, and the touch of the fabric is just right, I’ll take down the roll from the shelf and let out a metre or so. I’ll move it gently so it catches the light, to see how the fabric drapes.

And in my mind, I’m not holding a bolt of fabric in a store, I’m on a beach in a flowing skirt, with sand in my toes and the sun in my hair, or I’m celebrating with friends as their new baby wears one of my dresses, or I’m sending a friend off for a special night out, looking fabulous in a cocktail frock, or I’m watching a glowing bride take careful steps down the aisle into a new life.

I love the possibilities that exist in those rolls of fabric.

I wonder for a minute about the love and care that has already gone into creating these beautiful threads. They are the product of growers and spinners, weavers and dyers, and I don’t know their names or which dusty factories they serve. I can only hope that in the lifetime of these fabrics there was as much hope and love and beauty as I see in them now.

Before these fabrics can fulfill any of their potential, I need to buy them, take them home and cut into them. I must do violence to their patterns, cut across their warp and weft, I need to weaken them so that they may be re-shaped, to fit.

That is always the hardest part.

Before I cut I need to be sure of my pattern. I check and double check, measure and remeasure. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and cut.

http://www.mandors.co.uk/ 

Pictures of love blog 8 ‘Love at First Sight’

This months guest blog is written by Rev Nick Moxon he is the District Evangelism Enabler in the Lancashire District  Please feel free to post a comment at the bottom of the blog if you wish. 

We wondered how we would feel meeting our daughter for the first time. As we drove to meet her, my wife and I were silent, engrossed in our own thoughts. We hadn't been waiting long. This was no ordinary pregnancy – 6 weeks rather than 9 months. Our daughter was 3 years old, she could already walk and talk and could go to the toilet on her own. She had already called someone else ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’. How could we love her like we loved our two birth children?

Yet when we met her our hearts melted. She was a beautiful, vulnerable yet strong little girl with big brown eyes and ringlet curls in her hair. We instantly loved her. We wanted to sweep her up in our arms and protect her. Nothing or no one was ever going to hurt her again. She had been born to another couple yet, it seemed, for our family. This wasn't just about what we could offer her – a stable home, food, clothes, encouragement and opportunities. This was also about what she was going to give to us – fun, questions and the ability to turn our world upside down.

We've only known her a short time and things are going well. It seems as if she’s always been with us. And the love we offer her is being returned back to us ten-fold!

There are many passages in the Bible about us being chosen by God, that God loves us even before we knew anything of Him and about us being ‘adopted’ into His family – not viewed as second-class citizens but treated as equal to everyone else.

It’s as if God looks at our vulnerable state and His heart melts. He constantly desires to wrap His arms around us and love us. He sees in us, people who are not just helpless – He also sees our potential – who and what we can become – who and what we were created to be.

Being a part of God’s family brings with it stability and encouragement and all the resources of heaven for the rest of our lives and for eternity. What a joy! What a privilege!

My desire is to see our new daughter grow and develop into the beautiful woman she was created to be. God’s desire is that all of us grow and develop into the wonderful people He has created us to be. What an exciting future for us all!