Drive-bys

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement
Drive-bys

Hearts were heavy, but eager anticipation permeated the church parking lot as car after car lined up and received pin-wheels or butterflies dancing at the end of a stick. With at least 75 cars, we made an impressive line as we drove, one closely behind the other through the neighborhood, slowly passing the house where one of our beloved church families bravely faced a challenging trial. Their lovely, tenderhearted daughter, with amazing accomplishments in her career and full of hopes and dreams while in the prime of her young life, battled that dreadful disease—cancer. Shouting messages of love as we passed, we left our pinwheels and butterflies to symbolize our love. Her young nephews stuck them into the ground—a testimony of our collective caring.

As a congregation, we welcomed a way to physically show how much we cared, how much we loved them. For months, we felt helpless to express our caring as deeply as our hearts wanted. We longed to demonstrate communally our recognition of their anguish, and uplift the spirits of these dear, dear people. Finally, we had a way to carry our love to their door, gathering as a large community of concerned persons without exposing the family or each other to the dangers of a pandemic. God used our drive-by to express love from the hearts and minds of those in the cars, to the family gathered on the lawn, and observed by the neighbors.

‘God can find a way when there seems to be no way’ is an old, but true, saying. As the creator of Love, He will show us how to convey His love in each and every circumstance we encounter. He is the creator of loving ideas. Love enlarges us wherever it is experienced. God, help us express love in tangible ways.