Last October or November, I made a pocket prayer quilt with the sole intention of having it sold or bid on to help the women in our Bible study group that can't afford the books at $25 each. It was my hope that the quilt would raise money or sell off for at least $50 so 2 people could have their books paid for.
Our leader thought that was a wonderful idea and said instead of selling raffle tickets, we could have a Sunday after church bidding on it. Every Sunday there after, the quilt was not spoken of and I asked and was told, don't worry about it, it has been taken care of.
Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I left that church and have been attending another one. Last week I was given a bolt of beautiful blue and yellow plaid fabric and left it at the party we had gone to celebrate one of our missionaries return and birthday.
Imagine my shock, hurt and suprise when I walked into the church office yesterday and there, crumpled/wadded into a heap in a plastic out box, was the quilt I had so carefully and lovingly put together for someone in need. I was dismayed and hurt!
If they didn't want to auction it off, they could have given it back to me and I would have sold it here or on EBay and donated the money.
I put a lot of love into each one of my quilts and many times when they are complete, they have no owner until God puts into my heart what or where He wants them to go.
Seeing this quilt is like seeing a child kicked to the curb or out of their home.
Sadly, I know that there were women struggling last year to pay for their Bible study supplies and here was a way I could have helped them pay even if was for only one book!
8 comments:
I'm feel so badly for you this has happened. Sending hugs your way.
That is just so surprising. A wonderful Christian act to make the quilt for a good cause and then it not be used. I am so sorry you were hurt by the uncaring acts of another.
How thoughtless! And at church no less.. disgraceful. I gave two crocheted afghans to my girls school for a fundraiser one time too, and I never saw them up for bidding, but I never said anything. It was a small school, and I figured at some time they would need something to auction, or bid on, and I knew they were wonderful afghans. I figured perhaps it was just not the right time of season for them to get the best money for it. Perhaps they were going to use them when it was colder weather.
That is really a shameful treatment of a donation! It is obvious that the person setting it aside like that has no concept of the time, effort, and caring that goes into a quilt. Shameful!!
I am so sorry you had to find the quilt that you so lovenly made discarded in a heap. It is hard to imagine what that person was thinking when they kept putting off your questions about the auction when they had no intention of following through. It seems like a purely selfish act to prevent funds from being raised so that others could participate in the class. It might be helpful for you to write that person a letter telling them exactly how their poor choices affected you and the people who never received the money that was to have been raised. It would certainly shake my faith to know that this was all done by someone who is supposed to be setting an example for thier fellow church members. I believe the word I am looking for is hypocrite. Putting your feelings in wiriting may help you get some of the hurt out of your system so you can move on and not spend any more of you time and energy on someone who doesn't deserve it. I hope you took the quilt back after seeing how it was treated. Again, I feel badly that this happened to you. Mostly, I hope this experience does not cause you to lose faith in the vast majority of people who respect others and keep their committments.
No, I didn't say anything. Anyone who knows me knows I have to walk away and think about this for a bit and then I will speak. I thought it had sold and was used to help someone. It would have gotten at least $50-$100 just for the cause!
That is such a shame. I often find that people, even Church people, can be so callous and mean. It really stinks that this happened to you :( Iron it up and sell it. God will lay on your heart where the money should go. Hugs to you my friend <3
OH my word! I'm so sorry to hear of this beautiful gift being wasted... its too bad that they could not have been forthcoming about their decision not to use your gift. Instead it was wasted.
Definitely pray about how to approach this. For myself, I would have NO hesitation in asking for the quilt back, and even being a politely assertive about it (to prevent any further run-around).
HUGS!
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