The Woman at the Well

Devotion for the week...

I'm starting to prepare for the Easter 2025 QAL, which had me thinking about the Moments with Jesus devotions, so I'm sharing one of them today.

You’re probably familiar with the story of the woman at the well. She had been married four times and, at the time of her meeting with Jesus, she was living with a man who was not her husband. Her reputation among the people of Sychar was so bad that she chose to draw water at noon rather than going at dawn when it would have been cooler, but she’d also have to face all the other women. On top of that, she was a Samaritan and Jews never associated with Samaritans.

Yet, with all that, Jesus "had to go through Samaria on the way" (John 4:4) from Judea to Galilee. Except He didn’t have to, because Jews would purposely travel the long way around, adding miles to their journey, just to avoid going through Samaria. The reason Jesus 'had to' go through Samaria had nothing to do with the route from one place to another and everything to do with meeting this unnamed woman.

When she came to the well where Jesus was sitting, even she was surprised He would bother to speak to her, let alone ask her for a drink of water. "The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, 'You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?'" (v. 9). You can almost hear her surprise and confusion, can’t you?

"Jesus replied, 'If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water'" (v. 10). That’s not really a straight answer, is it? But it is a hint at what Jesus plans for this conversation. This unnamed woman, one who preferred to avoid the company of others so she could avoid their judgement, she was the one to whom Jesus said, "I am the Messiah!" (v. 26).

This woman wasn’t accepted by her neighbours, but she was accepted by Jesus. Society says our sins make us unacceptable, worthy only of judgement, shame, and scorn. Jesus seeks out the people who are shunned for their past. He said Himself, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost" (Luke 19:10). He talked with this woman, answered her questions, and treated her kindly, something her fellow townspeople weren’t in the habit of doing. He didn’t pretend her sins didn’t exist, but He accepted her anyway. In fact, when she went to tell everyone to come meet this extraordinary man, she said, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?" (v. 29). The fact that He knew everything about her and still accepted her was amazing to her.

When we are weighed down by our sin, Jesus still accepts us. When society says what we’ve done is shameful and terrible, Jesus offers us forgiveness if we only believe in Him. That He knows everything about us and accepts us anyway is no less amazing now than it was to this woman in Sychar back then.

Jesus’ time with this woman brings a question to mind: are we more like the people of Sychar, or more like Jesus? Do unbelievers try to avoid our company because we make them feel full of shame, or are they drawn to us because they feel love and acceptance from us? If our default is one of judgement, how can we change that so we are more like Jesus?

Biology First

Devotion for the week...

Yvonne, of Quilting Jetgirl, and her husband have a philosophy they refer to as 'Biology First.' You can hear Yvonne explain it herself on The Rev Biz Podcast with Sam Hunter. Essentially, their philosophy makes taking care of their physical needs a priority. That means they make sleep, food, water, rest, movement, and more a priority. It makes sense, doesn't it? Dealing with tough situations is even harder if we forget to eat or don't get enough sleep, our health goes downhill if we don't move our bodies, and we can't keep working without rest. Ever since I heard Yvonne talk about their philosophy, I find myself occasionally saying, "Biology First" when tempted to power through something without taking needed breaks. 

I was amused, then, to find an example of "biology first" when reading the Bible. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is running for his life after being threatened by Jezebel.

Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died."

Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.

Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, "Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you." (1 Kings 19:4-7).

See that? The angel essentially said, "Take care of your self! You can't just nibble a little and expect that to be enough. Eat enough to fuel your body." 

How often are we tempted to ignore what our bodies need in order to 'get more done' or because we're so busy we're not even paying attention to our bodies? God knows we need to care for our physical needs, and He included examples of that throughout the Bible. We are commanded to rest (Exodus 20:8-9), and Jesus modeled resting, even going so far as to nap in a boat during a storm (Mark 4:38). When enduring his own storm on a ship, Paul coaxed the others with him to eat, reminding them that it would be for their own good (Acts 27:33-34). And, of course, Jesus fed a crowd of 4,000 men (plus women and children), after saying to His disciples, "I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way" (Matthew 15:32).

How or when are you tempted to ignore your physical needs? For me, I'm often tempted to stay up too late when my book is really good and I just want to keep reading, even though I know I don't do well without enough sleep. For you it may be that you forget to stop and stretch, or even to eat, when you're quilting. Whatever it is, our physical needs matter, and we'll be better able to face whatever 'journey' comes next if we take care of ourselves.

My First Quilt with Eva Saunders

It's a little hard to believe, but it's already the last Friday of October! Where did this month go? Since it is the last Friday of the month, that means we get to enjoy a My First Quilt interview. This month Eva Saunders of Gingerly Quilt Co is sharing the story of her first quilt.

Eva Saunders is a fabric artist and quilt pattern designer, who learned quilting from her grandma in her teenage years. She loves quilting and sharing her knowledge of everything sewing and art.

You can connect with Eva on Instagram.

And now, here's Eva's first quilt!

What year did you make your first quilt? What prompted you to make it?

The first quilt my grandma made with me in the 90s, I can’t remember (and I sadly don’t have photos), but my first OWN quilt without her help was in 2021, when I had a lot of fabric left after making masks for health workers. I was going to move cross-country and decided to use as much of the leftover fabric I can before the move. Needless to say it became a huge quilt! An extended queen size quilt, about 90”x 90”!

What techniques were used in that first quilt? Did you quilt it yourself?

The pattern was Three Step by Annie‘s. It was very simple piecing with rectangles and sashing. I had to lay the quilt out on our living room floor and still didn’t have enough space to see all the blocks at one time! It was quite a puzzle to arrange them in a pleasing manner. I sewed them together in rows, then attached the rows to each other. In the middle of that, we moved! At the new place, I had a little more space, so I was able to finish the top, thread baste it on the floor during a snowstorm (without power) and was ready to quilt it! Quilting was probably the hardest part, because I had never done it with a machine (my grandma had only taught me hand quilting) AND because I used high loft batting with my small  domestic machine… I decided to straight line quilt along the sashing, because there was no way I could do any intricate designs with my minimal throat space. It was quite a workout! But now I‘m very proud of this quilt (and will only do Throw sized quilts max going forward ;) )

Who taught you to make the quilt?

My grandma taught me how to quilt when I was a teenager.  She was a seamstress and quilted as a hobby. I loved being in her sewing room with her, a place that was truly her own, no husbands allowed… We spent a lot of summers together sewing quilted wall hangings and clothes. We never had enough time for a bed sized quilt, though, so my first larger quilt I made in my 20s.

Are the colours you chose for your first quilt ones you would still choose today?

The fabrics I used were selected from bedsheets that were donated from people in my neighborhood for mask making, so I selected the ones with colors that I liked. Oranges and teals, browns and beiges. I wanted the quilt to be colorful, but made of neutrals, so that it would fit into our new home, which we didn‘t know the decor and style of yet. There was one print that tied it all the solid colors together, so it worked out really well! After that I made quilts with cotton fabrics (instead of bed sheets), which have a nicer feel, but I still like the colors of my first quilt and its soo soft! In fact, I used the colors of this quilt as an inspiration when I made my company logo for Gingerly Quilt Co, which is orange!

Did you fall in love with quilting right away? Or was there a gap between making the first quilt and the next one?

I had fallen in love with quilting when I was a teenager, but stopped during high school when I didn‘t see my grandma as much anymore. I still used my sewing machine to alter clothes during college, but didn‘t get back into quilting until after making masks in  2020. Sewing masks got me back into sewing! And after that first large quilt, I was bit by the quilting bug again and made many more- and also started writing my own modern quilt patterns, which is how Gingerly Quilt Co was born in 2022. 

Where is the quilt now?

The quilt is tucked under my bed for whenever I‘m too cold at night! 

Is there anything you wish you could go back and tell yourself as you made that first quilt?

I wish I hadn‘t used high loft batting. Then I would have been able to quilt a little denser and make it a bit more sturdy!

Anything else you want to share about your first quilt?

This quilt just proved to me that you can do anything you set your mind to! ;)

Thanks, Eva for sharing your first quilt with us!