Love Written in Marker

Our granddaughter’s birthday was coming soon.

Her planned quilt, designed to match a pillow she’d received earlier from me, was not quite ready. I had done the piecing for the top (planning, placing, and sewing the blocks). Next, a long-arm quilter stitched all the parts together: the top, batting, and the backing. I also had someone embroider one of the blocks with a message from me.

When it was finally completed, as I was admiringly looking over it and thanking God that it would at least get there in her birthday month, I realized I’d left out the word love. I always include the word love in those messages.

Oh no! In my haste to get it there within a certain time frame, I’d overlooked writing that word on the directions for the lady who embroidered it.

I didn’t want to be disappointed with myself, so I grabbed a permanent marker and wrote it on there with the marker. When I told our son what had happened, he sounded a little dubious—a marker? Yes, and it didn’t bother me at all because love was in every effort made to get that quilted blanket together.

Unlike us, God has not left anything out of His messages that will cause us to doubt, question, or disbelieve His Word.

Our son probably thought that even a permanent marker might fade or completely wash out with repeated use and washings.

Through the centuries, efforts have been made to destroy the Word, keep people from reading it, and minimize its value for our salvation.

But even if those efforts had been successful, God’s Word tells us that we can behold Him everywhere, so we are without excuse (Psalm 19:1–4; Romans 1:20).

We can know how much God loves us by reading His Word and beholding His works in nature. His outstretched arms on the cross prove it all and manifest love in action. God’s plan of salvation is for everyone.

We can’t say God doesn’t love us because of anything that He omitted to show, do, or have written for us. May God bless our desires to know Him better and better each day.

Sharon M. Thomas