Since our weekend away our lives have been dominated by the hospitalisation of my 99 year old mother-in-law, who fell and fractured her shoulder. She is very frail and fragile, her body is wearing out. But in spite of her confusion and distress she still has a strength and determination, some might say an “indomitable spirit”! Those of you who know her will know what I mean!!
The other day I woke up with this quote from the Bible in my mind.
“For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16 Good NewsTranslation ) It was a reminder for me that just because our outer physical selves are inevitably ageing and wearing out, it doesn’t mean we are “finished”!
Perhaps that is why I enjoy re-using, recycling, restoring old pieces of fabric, furniture etc. Nothing is ever finished or useless. Over the summer I have working on a project to restore an old trunk which has been in our attic for many years. Given to me by an elderly lady when I first went to university in the 1970’s, it was her trunk when she was a young lady on her travels, probably in the 1920s and 30s. Her name was Phoebe Bennett and although she died many years ago, her legacy remains.
The trunk was very battered, scratched and stained, it has been well used by me and one of my sons. I have been gradually cleaning it, painting it, and relining the inside. As I work on it I am reminded of that enduring quality of our lives, which has nothing to do with our outer physical being, but is about what we carry, our treasure within, and the legacy we leave. I am not sure yet what this old trunk will hold in the future…
Here are some pictures of the process so far. And I hope to post some updates – both on the trunk project, and how my mother-in-law is progressing.
Weavers Journal 
Great to see the butterfly fabric! It’s looking good.
Did some more today, will post more photos in due course….
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