The Finished Prayer Blanket

Here it is, as promised!  The picture of the finished Prayer Blanket for Conner.  Cindy (Conner's grandmother) came by the hospital this weekend to visit, and I presented her with the blanket to take with her when she leaves for Florida on June13th.  She has had to resign from Lynchburg General for awhile until it is certain that Conner's surgery has been successful -- at which point she plans to return to us.  We miss her.  Conner's surgery is set for June 15th.  The blanket was finished just in time.  Her son's mother in law is an avid knitter, but had never heard of Prayer blankets or Prayer shawls.  She is very interested in finding out more about them.  I told Cindy about the book, "Knitting Into the Mystery"  and asked her to pass along the info.  As I said in my previous entry, knitting one of these was a very uplifting experience for me, but that was nothing compared to the feeling I got when Cindy opened the bag and I told her what it was.  She hugged it closely and cried and said that it was the most beautiful and comforting thing that she had ever heard of.  Now, I believe that that is because these blankets (or shawls) are visual, tangible objects that someone can hold and they are visual reminders of the love and prayers that the knitter has poured out for that person.  It is something that the person can wrap around themselves and "feel the love." Now maybe that sounds overly sappy, but the fact remains that that was one of the most powerful spiritual moments I have ever had.  Knit (or crochet) one for someone, and see for yourself!