Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child


Today's post header is taken from an old "Negro spiritual" that we folk music enthusiasts of the '60s used to sing, and too suddenly it has become my reality. My husband died at 31 in 1977; the following year my dad died. The year after that my mom was seriously ill and close to death. I have thanked God through all these years that He allowed her to remain a loving, vital part of my somewhat shattered family. In April, she finally went "home", leaving me a true motherless child. And that has been a kind of scary place to be. Sometimes it feels as if I'm walking in the dark, never knowing whether my next step will land on solid ground or send me tumbling to somewhere I can't get back from. Ah, but though my husband and parents are gone, my Father still holds me close. And when I saw the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge (based on the verse in Psalms that says, "When I am afraid, I will trust in You") I thought I should enter. So here is one little verse that speaks the truth of my life.

The blue background is actually heavy corrugated cardboard (like packaging cartons) and REALLY difficult to cut! The papers are just scraps from my stash. The butterfly's flight trail is a piece of gold key chain -- yep, the kind you actually put keys on when you don't have a real keyring! After I finished this card, I realized that I have created a "box" of my own:  a couple of squares, a background, and some words, with a winged creature thrown in. Yikes! Got to break out of my own box. But for today, I also entered this in:
The Shabby Tea Room     a little bit of metal
Craft Your Days Away     with wings
Crafty Creations                butterflies
Sentimental Sundays        words that inspire (at least I hope so!)

13 comments:

Becky said...

What a wonderful testimony of the power of God in your life.

Beautiful card, very creative with the details..:) Thank you for joining us at Stampin Sisters in Christ.

Debbie said...

Absolutley lovely!! Thanks for joining us in the Tea Room this week :)

mfc.melissamade2 said...

Beautiful sentiment and beautiful butterfly! Thanks for playing along at Crafty Creations Challenge this week!
Melissa

Audrey Pettit said...

Very sweet card! Love the sentiment and love your use of recycled items. That key chain makes the perfect butterfly trail. Thanks for sharing this with us at TSTR.

Sarah said...

This is beautiful, love the colours you've used. Thank you for joining us at Craft Your Days Away, good luck with the challenge x

Saskia said...

Thanks for joining us at Crafty Creations Challenge with your lovely work! Good luck!!

Greetings, Saskia
(guest designer)

**I've got some polka-dots candy on my blog, feel free to take a look!**

Sassy's Ramblin's said...

Great card! and what an amazing testimony! I love that through it all, you are joyful...thank you for your inspiration!

Miesje said...

Thanks for sharing your faith with us! I love the card and am so glad that you joined us this week at Stampin Sisters in Christ!

Cheryl said...

Beautiful card! I love the sentiment. Thank you for joining us for the Sentimental Sundays challenge. I hope you will join us for our new challenge on Sunday.

Cheryl
http://shestamps.blogspot.com/

peggysue said...

Very creative, I love the layout! And thanks for sharing part of your story of God's faithfulness in your life. I like the butterfly on the side too, they represent hope to me. Thanks for participating in the Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge this week!

Ann English said...

Your inspirational post gave me chills-a stunning card with an inspirational quote. Thank you for joining us this week for Sentimental Sundays.

PapierGirl said...

What a beautiful card! I know what you mean about using corrugated board - I love using it too for the affect, but it is difficult to work with sometimes! Thanks so much for joining us this week at TSTR! :)

Crafting Queen said...

Love the quote and the card is so elegant. Thanks for joining us at Sentimental Sundays.