the most beautiful thing I've ever made

The summer is nearly at a close. The last remaining weeks are passing quickly by and very soon, the season which not long ago was so anticipated, and which filled me with an unprecedented sense of expectation, will be a fresh memory. That feeling of anticipation has not passed, however, and I'm starting to think that summer was merely the beginning. The excitement was not for summer, the excitement was for the work God did in my life during the summer-- work that's not yet finished!

Today I had the opportunity to thank someone who has been instrumental to this summer growth. She has pushed me farther than I ever would have pushed myself, someone who has encouraged, empowered, and challenged me every week like clockwork. She is a powerful minister, an exceptional advocate, and an insightful teacher. In addition to my gratitude, however, is grief borne of separation as I am in the process of saying goodbye as she leaves our church in an official capacity to discover what God has in store for her next. True to her work ethic, she's staying with me and her other disciples until the very last second before she leaves-- and I am sure that even after she is no longer my mentor in an official capacity that she will remain a very salient and powerful presence in my life.

So to thank her for her work in me (and in others), I made a stole today for her to use in her future ministerial endeavors. I wanted to create something that was meaningful for me and for her, but also something she could wear on the street! Mary's heart is for 'unchurched' people, which makes perfect sense why she became my mentor, then. I think it is fitting that I had never attempted to create a stole before, just as this summer it was her influence that empowered me to try many other new things. And just as I feel those other new things have been for me, this stole turned out to be the most beautiful thing I've ever done. Have a look for yourself:


The fabric is hand-stamped batik from Indonesia, a particular cut of cloth I have been coveting for many years and using very sparingly. I love that I was able to share it with her. Purple is a very liturgical color, the color worn for both Advent and Lent, so it is a stole that COULD get a lot of use in a traditional church. I had never made a stole before, so I snuck into Cokesbury last week and traced one of their overpriced stoles to get the shape of the neck right.


The embroidery is silver metallic thread, very simply done, a french-stitched cross. I originally wanted to do an ichthyus on either side of both crosses, because I feel that Mary exemplifies Jesus' call to his to disciples to "come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." I recognize there's a lot of mixed metaphor there, so that's another reason I kept it simple. I think it turned out much better than I ever could have anticipated.


And this is the finished product. She was speechless when she received it and even more so when she realized I had made it for her. I was SO excited to give it to her. It just goes to show that it is better to give than it is to receive. Mary told me I'll have to add this to my list of spiritual gifts (one of my assignments for the summer)... definitely not part of the school of thought that believes the nine listed in the Bible are all there is. That's okay, though. We're untraditional. A little ironic, no?