Quilt of love...

Yesterday we received a gift made with so much love and kindness it touched our very souls. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while might remember the following entry I wrote just a few days after Lily’s death…

One of the most profound acts of kindness that has touched us so deeply has come from a high school classmate in her offer to make a quilt of love using some of the clothes I had purchased for Lily. There really are no words to properly describe how much this has meant to both Nick & I. I had purchased a couple of outfits for Lily the day before she died, and the thought of having to return them was more than I could handle. Then, just a couple of days after her death, I received the kindest message from Audra saying she would like to do this for us. Initially, when I received this message I just cried; the thought that someone who lived across the country and whom I had not had contact with since high school was reaching out to me in such a selfless way touched me to the core. Audra, your generosity and compassion have given us such hope in the midst of our grief...I feel there is nothing I can ever redo to properly repay you for what you have done for us.

That beautiful, handmade heirloom quilt arrived at our door yesterday afternoon. It was an emotional moment to say the least opening that box. Looking at the quilt with tears streaming down my face, the thought crossed my mind that seeing Lily’s clothes as a part of this quilt seems somewhat symbolic of our lives over these past few months. After she died we were so lost, so uncertain of the future and how we would cope with this immense grief. With time though, we have been putting the pieces of our lives back together, just in a different manner than before. Our lives will always be different now that she is gone, but the pieces that have made the most difference in helping us to grieve and move forward have been the people. The people like Audra, who have given with their hearts and souls, showing us the goodness that exists in this world, helping us to have hope that in a world filled with so much compassion and love we will survive.
As the quote Audra shared with us says, “The best kind of sleep beneath Heaven above, is under a quilt, handmade with love”

Dear blog followers, if any of you would like a beautiful quilt yourself or would like to purchase one for a friend, check out Audra’s Etsy page…she is also available to make custom quilts!