Hello friends! Popping in today to share a little about what is going on with our 'A Mother's Hope' program. For those who are new here this program provides quilts to mothers who are receiving treatment and counseling for postpartum depression. Here is the original post for a few months ago with more details.
My mom was invited to an open house a couple of weeks ago for the program. She wanted to share a few thoughts from her experience that day.
"The quilts are such a blessing." That's what I heard yesterday when I
attended an open house for the mother and baby program at Pine Rest. I
was again impressed by how dedicated the staff are who work with the
moms in the program. They want only the best for these new moms, both
now and in the future as the women leave the program. They were very
kind in their praise of the quilts and how they feel the women can use
them as they recover - not only emotionally, as a source of hope and
comfort, but also practically, as they spread them on their laps or
around their shoulders during group therapy sessions. Often the moms
are surprised to learn that they are choosing a quilt for themselves,
not their baby. And some know right away which one they want - others
look
through the stash and take their time making their choice. They love the notes that are included, and will sometimes share the note on their quilt with the other moms in the group.
Yesterday,
the staff had hung some of the smaller quilts in the hallway for the
open house - other were spread over small tables or bookcases adding to
the look of the comfortable and nicely decorated spaces used for the
therapy sessions. I was very proud to be there, and see the reaction
from the staff to the quilts.
If you've contributed a quilt to this,
our latest Margaret's Hope Chest project, thank you so much! The staff
could not say enough how much they appreciate your/our quilts, and the
praise was genuine - not just because I happened to be there. If you
can make a quilt or two for this program this year, we would be very
grateful. And please, if you do, include a note about the quilt to the
new mom. It doesn't have to
be eloquent - just sincere about why you chose the pattern, or the
colors, or an encouraging word to someone struggling right now.
As
the eighth anniversary of Mom's death approaches, I am humbled that God
is leading us to be able, with the help of so many, to provide hope,
comfort, warmth to so many people and projects."
Again, if you can make a quilt or you have a quilt in your stash that you could share with one of these moms that would be wonderful. I believe we have brought over 40 quilts since the beginning of 2013--and the majority of them have been chosen. We would like to be able to continue serving in this way throughout the year.
All quilts can be sent to:
Margaret's Hope Chest
630 Griswold SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49507
Blessings on your quilting!
2 comments:
I've got a quilt ready for you - I'm just holding onto it so I can share it with my two quilt groups this week. I should be able to mail it out to you on Wednesday of next week. :)
I was in the hospital back then and I have one of the quilts. You are right about the surprise that came when we were told the quilts were not for our babies. As new moms, we were used to giving everything to our babies. I found it refreshing to keep something for myself. It was an important lesson in self-care. It also gave me permission, in a way, to take care of myself. I think not taking care of ourselves properly is what brought us there in the first place.
It is difficult to put into words what this blanket means to me. I am crying even as I type this. What slays me about my blanket is the hand stitching. The pieces are machine stitched, which takes a lot of time, but the front and the back and the batting are all stitched together by hand. This must have taken a very long time. I often think about the woman who made it and her loving hands doing the stitching. Did she do it in the evening after supper while watching t.v.? Or did she sit around a table and have tea with her seamstress friends at a weekly quilting bee? Did she bring it with her to appointments to work on it while waiting, making use of idle time? I imagine it was a combination of all three. The quilt must have taken a long time. To think that a stranger had enough love for me to cause her to invest all that time really just breaks my heart ( in a good way). Thank you.
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