The Small Thimble

By Jennifer Austin

An older woman sits in her chair preparing to work on a quilt for her newest grandchild. This is something she has done for each child and grandchild in her family. She reaches into her bag of quilting materials. Thread, squares of material, needles… She began to get concerned; she could not see her thimble. Then she finds it in the bottom of the bag. She didn’t want to work on the quilt without her thimble. She had used her thimble on each and every quilt she had ever made. That thimble, though small, has saved a lot of wear and tear on her finger. It made quilting easier and faster. Such a great little tool.

As she began working on the quilt she thought of the very first quilt she made for her daughter. It seemed like so long ago. That quilt served so many purposes in its long life.  Not only did it keep her daughter warm for most of her childhood. But it served as a blanket for family picnics. It was used to make tents and clubhouses as the children played make believe, and so many other things. The quilt was still around and folded up on the end of her daughter’s bed as a reminder of the love her mother had for her.

The small thimble helped to make it all possible. To look at it’s small metal structure, you would not think of it as important. Then if you think of all of the quilts it made and all of the lives that were affected by the quilts.

Compare this little thimble to ourselves. How little we are.. The Lord is the quilt maker; he uses his thimble (us) to create wonderful things that will affect many people. Though we are small we are useful and very important. We are used to love and support one another. We are used to help one another. We are used to help others know Christ.

So next time you think you are small, think of that little thimble and how great it can be in the right hand.