Sunday, February 27, 2011

You Will Not Destroy Me

My daughter brought home a book from her school library called, The Quiltmaker's Gift.  I was so inspired by the book that I bought a copy for us to keep.  It's about a quiltmaker who makes quilts for the poor and needy and a king who has ruled he shall have two birthdays every year and that everyone in the land must give him a gift on each of his birthdays.  When he finds that the quiltmaker has not given him a gift, he and his army march to her home, demanding she make him a quilt.  She told him that she only makes quilts for the poor and needy and that when he is that, she will make him a quilt.  Angry, he ties her up in the cave of a sleeping bear to be eaten by morning.  He is ridden with guilt and goes to rescue her, only to find that the woman has befriended the bear and has made the bear a soft pillow to sleep on.  The king was again enraged and put the quiltmaker on an island only big enough for her to stand on and allowed her to drown.  Again, he felt too badly and went to rescue her, only to find that a large flock of birds had flown the woman to dry land and that she was stitching small shawls for each of the birds.  The king finally gave up and with much angst, decided to give away his belongings one by one.  At first it was very difficult, then became easier and easier as he saw the delight that it brought to others.  He traveled the world giving away everything he owned, and was rewarded with a beautiful quilt.  He declared himself a rich man in the end, having experienced the joy of giving. 
There are people in my life who have tried to keep me from growing, hoping that I will give up and fall to the ground in defeat.  When I catch myself wanting to do just that, I think about the quiltmaker living purely with love no matter what others are doing.  She actually makes friends with someone who is meant to be her enemy just by being fearless and loving.  I think about myself standing tall and proud, firm in my principles, moving forward with my life despite the evil around me.  "You will not destroy me," I say to myself, and I pick myself up and trudge through whatever I need to trudge through.  And most of all, I focus on the power of love.  The strength I feel from thinking this way is indomitable.  Love really does conquer all things.  It is unbreakable and cannot be destroyed.

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