Friends With Jesus
"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer."
What A Friend We Have in Jesus, Joseph M. Scriven, 1855
I love the words of the classic hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, don’t you? Isn’t it wonderful to know that Jesus is not only our Savior, but our friend? That he wants us to come and pour out our hearts to Him? As Christians, we know that we can’t be good friends to others if we are not good friends to Jesus. This quilt tells us that Jeanette Barber was a good friend of Jesus.
The first thing I notice about this wall hanging is the intertwined heart and cross. It draws me into the story of the quilt and shows that Jeanette’s love for Jesus was the most important part of her life, that she had an intimate relationship with Him. Her daughter, Nancy, told us that when she asked her mom, “If you could talk with anyone in the world who would it be?” her mom answered “I would talk with a stranger because then they would not be a stranger anymore.” She must have made the people she met feel so warm and welcomed! What a wonderful example of living out her Christian faith.
Jeanette’s family wanted to honor her delight in her Dutch roots by creating the tulip patch at the foot of the cross. They are so bright and cheery that I feel like they must reflect her encouraging spirit. What a charming way to show us a little piece of her heart. (Jeanette’s family shared that she loved to encourage people by sending cards and hand written notes of encouragement for all occasions. She always signed her cards with the words “your friend”. She even signed cards to her children, your mom and friend, Jeanette Barber. How special!)
A beautiful part of the quilt story is that families make donations to Living Threads based on the number of hours it takes for the volunteers to put their quilt together. This is what makes it extra special: 100% of the money donated for volunteer hours goes to support children who attend Bible Clubs in the Kibera Slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Jeanette’s love for Jesus, her friendship with Jesus, grew to include children who need a safe place to go, a warm meal and, more importantly, need to know that Jesus is their friend!
Watch a 3 minute video of how to create a memory quilt to honor your loved one click here.