Bravery

Last Friday this quilt was sent to Angie. She is brave. I'm not sure she would acknowledge that but anyone who tells their story as truthfully as she did is brave in my book. I don't know Angie but I read an article that she had written in a magazine and instantly, I knew that I needed to make her a quilt. You see, I struggled with Post-Partum Depression after two of my pregnancies. I understand a little of what Angie describes below;

"September 21, 2007, I walked into a local emergency room after struggling with depression for two years. I was done. I spent the day in a quiet, dark room, curled up in a chair while waiting for a member of the crisis team to assess me.

I wanted to die. Thoughts of oncoming gravel trucks filled my mind.

I was admitted to the hospital. I remember asking my sister-in-law, “How do I go home?”

I was done. Little did I know that my descent into the dark was only beginning.

Depression is a brutal illness. Imagine forsaking all you hold dear. I walked away from my husband, my children, my home, the activities surrounding it, the love intertwined through it, the security I felt within. It felt foreign. I knew no way to return."

This is only part of what she wrote. She did an excellent job describing depression and it's effects on normal life. When I read this next excerpt a picture of a quilt was painted in my mind.

"I still deal with depression. It sneaks in when I am tired or when life becomes overwhelming. I am not always comfortable in my own home, and I deal with anxiety on a daily basis.

But I have been given much. I treasure color: oranges, yellows, blues, greens. I treasure my bright orange bowls and green spatulas. I send myself colorful cards full of words of encouragement to open on bad days. I buy myself bouquets of bright flowers. I still wear dresses, not to hide the ugliness but to enjoy their feel. And every morning I wrap myself in a warm cotton sweater and enjoy a walk with my dog through the trees. And if the wind is in the trees, I can feel the breath of God settling into me. He is there.

I love the colors in the quilt I created for Angie. It is my prayer that this quilt will provide comfort and hope for her journey ahead.