In March of 2001, Bob Morrow suggested our sewing group send clothing to a Philippine mission he was acquainted with.  Usually, missionary barrels are filled with used clothing, but we decided they would like to get new clothing as much as we do.  We had been sewing for several years, giving to local groups, so we accepted Bob’s challenge and began to sew clothing of all sizes, for women and children. Since my own children had outgrown their desire to wear “homemade clothing,” I was once again sewing garments that I could design and imagine on a child.

                Next to reading and traveling, sewing is a great passion of mine.  I often groan about “so many books to read, places to visit, and fabric to sew, and so little time!”

                At first, with designs swirling in my mind, I visited the church’s Dorcas room to look at the donated fabric remnants collected there.  After a time, I had matched enough pieces of like colors or textures to create several small ensembles.  At home, I spent hours trying to “make something out of nothing.”  It took so long to make patterns fit on those small fabric scraps.  After cutting out several frocks, I knew it would be much easier to just buy the necessary yardage and be done with it!

                Since I was still working as a school librarian when we started this, I tried to sew at least a couple of garments per week.  It is remarkable what I can accomplish with the television off and the answering machine on.  On Sundays, I took my completed outfits to add to the collection box.  I prayed the children would like them.  Some church members were surprised that they were made from scraps.

                Later, I pondered those comments.  I realized that my sewing is much like my writing.  Just as I take scraps of fabric and put them together to create a garment, my writing develops as I take scraps of my life and put them together to create a story.  Sometimes my creations are not beautiful.  My dresses may have uneven buttonholes or lack straight zippers.  My stories may have split infinitives or lack parallel sentence structure.  Always, though, they are created with love.

                Affirmations keep me sewing and writing.  When my granddaughter was young, I was always tickled when she would answer a compliment on an outfit she was wearing with the words, “Memaw made it!”  And when a friend told me she keeps the news clipping of something I wrote in her Bible or another “liked” something I posted on Facebook because it gave her hope and assurance, I was overwhelmed, and praised God!

                Not all of my creations appeal to everyone; however, when I receive a note or call or “like,” I cannot explain how wonderful those kind words make me feel.  Elizabeth Bibesco wrote, “Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”  I pray that I will never forget those who have encouraged me through the years.

                As the Dorcas Group ladies continue to sew garments to share with others, now more than twenty years later,  we are the ones who are blessed.  We are retired now, widowed, and getting older and slower, but we keep at it each morning.

                We believe that our walk with God should not make us weary or exhausted.  It should invigorate us, restore our strength, and energize our lives.  So, we get up each weekday morning and shuffle off to the sewing room at the church building, knowing that if we can continue to give generously, many may gain from our efforts and God will bless us all!

 

  Joyce Broyles is a retired High School Librarian and resides in Jennings,LA.