As I sat and visited with a friend recently, we talked of being in the winters of our lives, of how quickly the years have gone by, and how it was hard to believe our children were approaching middle age.  We admitted still feeling thirty-nine in our minds even if our bodies reminded us on a daily basis that we are not thirty-nine.

We agreed that the one good thing about growing old, actually the best thing, is being able to look back and understand the difference Jesus Christ has made in our lives.

I’ve been able, as I have written these stories, to pinpoint the numerous times that God has sent His angels, literally and figuratively, in the form of friends and strangers to minister in times of personal and family crisis.

Has there been fear?  Oh yes, but out of that fear, faith has grown.  It is a faith birthed many generations ago, nurtured, treasured and handed down through the years so the cycle could continue.

In sharing their life stories, my mother and my grandmothers passed on their legacy of faith.  Within the pages of this book, I now pass them on to the next generation.  I pray members of the next generation will someday write their own life stories of how faith has overpowered fear in their lives.

Now, in the winter of my life, I find comfort and warmth in my life’s quilt wrapped tightly around me.  Made by the many hands of loved ones and treasured friends, it envelops me with sweet memories of them.  Some memories bring a smile; others bring a tear.  Each brings a longing to reach out and to grasp and tightly hold on to while never wanting to let them go.

But I must let go; I must toss my quilt to the side.  It is a new day that God has so graciously given to greet and to continue my journey.  New pieces will be added to my quilt today, sewn by the hands of precious family members, new and old friends, strangers, perhaps angels, and the most tender and loving hands of all - the hands of God.