Scraps on the Floor by Lori Hatcher

Digital Photos/Carlos Porto

As I marveled at the rows of ladies sewing busily at their machines, I noticed an elderly woman dressed in Amish garb moving quietly among the sewing machines.

While I watched, she traveled from one work station to the next with a broom and a dustpan, sweeping up the small scraps of fabric the ladies had discarded as they cut out their patterns.

I was touring a small textile business in Lancaster that made handcrafted Pennsylvania Dutch items, and I was intrigued by this scrap lady so I asked what she was doing.


“Oh, she’s been doing that for years,” the supervisor answered. “She came in one day and asked me what we did with the leftover scraps of fabric. When I told her we threw them away, she asked if she could have them.”

“What does she do with a bunch of useless scraps?” I asked.

“Believe it or not, she uses them to make quilts,” the supervisor explained and then led the way to an office area to show me one of the intricately designed quilts on display.

“Who would have thought,” I marveled, “that something so beautiful could come from leftovers you threw away?”

Ruth Myers, in her book Thirty-one Days of Praise, says to the Lord, “With You, nothing is accidental, nothing is incidental, and no experience is wasted . . . every trial that You allow to happen is a platform on which You reveal Yourself, showing Your love and power, both to me and to others looking on.”

What a comfort to know that God uses the “leftovers” of our lives. All the mistakes, all the failures, all the hurts and all the pain that we would rather throw away, are raw materials in His hands. Like the little Amish lady, God moves quietly among the events of our lives gathering up the pieces, fully able to link them together into a beautiful tapestry of grace.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Today, will you join Ruth Myers and me in saying to the Lord, “I praise you for Your sovereignty over the broad events of my life and over the details?” Let’s trust Him together to make something beautiful out of the events of our lives that we would rather throw away.

Read Lori's bio, find out about her new book and her blog on the Lead Writers' Page  and if you are interested in the empty nest stage of life, don't miss Lori's latest Book Review. 

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