A song sung in F major
Sunday November 15th 2009, 3:07 pm
Filed under: Friends,Knitting a Gift

I knew I should have taken a photo, but I just never got around to it. Okay, squint a little and picture this but with  the colors more intense.

I had a lace scarf–more a stole–that I’d knit out of some of Lisa Souza’s Mardi Gras colorway, as bright and lively and cheerful as the name.  All finished, but tucked away, waiting for its moment. I thought I had plans for it–but it just wouldn’t go.  As usual, my yarn was the boss of me.  I finished it probably a year ago.

Today for the first time, I put it on and wore it to church.

F. was one of the speakers.  F.  was quite new to this whole speaking in front of a large crowd thing, and when he stood up and looked at his audience, he was nervous and a bit overwhelmed at first and soon turned to the bishop, who is bilingual, asking for help.  Though F. speaks English, it doesn’t come as fluently nor as easily as he’d like.

Sure, glad to help, and the bishop stood up next to him–and then grinned, no no, come back up to the mic, you first.

F. spoke from the heart, and we watched the nervousness simply melt away as he did so.  There were a few times where the bishop started to translate and F. went, wait, say (strings of Spanish followed). They laughed and continued.  There was one time F. spoke, the bishop started, F. went wait, this too, and they kind of tripped all over each other verbally, laughing some more.

And in the process, the whole language difficulty thing became simply a means for the Spirit of love to enter in and bless the whole congregation listening and watching them.  An arm went around a shoulder. And again, in delight.  Love speaks in all languages and it speaks without mistranslation.  It simply Is. And it was there.

At the end of the services, I saw F.’s wife and there was no longer any question: I knew.  I went up to her and told her, my friend Lisa dyed this yarn for me, I knitted this, but I just spent the whole time thinking it needs to go where it most belongs…

…As I took it off me and wrapped it around her.  Just her colors, I saw, pleased, just perfect on her–as she gasped in surprise and delight.

I’m half deaf, I don’t speak Spanish, I’ve never really had a conversation with her, or at least not one that I was very successful at participating in, just many a smile and quiet nod shared between us since I met them–but when words are not enough, Love enters in just the same.

Translating perfectly.


16 Comments so far
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That is the way it is supposed to be. Thanks for sharing this happy ending with us.

Comment by sherry in idaho 11.15.09 @ 4:25 pm

You are a gem.

Comment by Julie 11.15.09 @ 5:05 pm

Yes, love is the universal language. And gifts, given in love, are part of that language.

Humor –

A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing on the Ark?” “No,” he replied. “How could he, with just two worms?”

Comment by Don Meyer 11.15.09 @ 6:43 pm

That’s beautiful! Love is patient….

(BTW, I’ve been wondering how being hard of hearing affects understanding dialects. There are some neighbors with hearing difficulties who seem to have a hard time understanding me, and if someone repeats what I said, they seem to get it. I wonder if it’s just the accent or some combination?)

Comment by LynnM 11.16.09 @ 1:50 am

I’m sitting here in the wee hours, grinning at the computer monitor like an idiot! What a happy ending!

Hugs!

Comment by Barbara-Kay 11.16.09 @ 2:46 am

What a soft yet powerful way to start the reading portion of my day!

Such a generous heart and a patient soul… You did once say that knitting is love made tangible. Here’s one more example of the words put into motion.

Comment by Suzanne in Mtl 11.16.09 @ 6:16 am

I’m so glad there’s someone else out there who’s had things tell them where *they* wants to go 🙂 When you listen and follow through, the experience is absolutely transcendent!

Comment by Robbyn 11.16.09 @ 7:57 am

A little smile and nod mean the world to all of us, especially when there’s a language barrier.
I can just imagine how thrilled Mrs. F. must have been to receive the wrap. You. Go. 🙂

Comment by Toni Smoky-Mountains 11.16.09 @ 8:00 am

Heartwarming & endearing. Thank you for brightening my day!

Comment by TripletMom 11.16.09 @ 8:52 am

I can just imagine the smile on her face to receive such an unexpected gift of time and love. Thanks for sharing the story.

Comment by Joansie 11.16.09 @ 9:11 am

What a great story! (Will it be in the second book?)

Comment by Channon 11.16.09 @ 9:23 am

Love speaks all languages as you say–and often your love speaks through gifts of your knitted work. What could be more eloquent, Alison!

Comment by Karen 11.16.09 @ 5:33 pm

ooooh! I did a search and found the colorway here:
http://www.lisaknit.com/yarn/animalfibers/sockp/mardigras.html
BEAUTIFUL!

It is so true, love has it’s own language.
When my house burned down in Japan, I lost almost everything I owned. The kindness and love shown to me by strangers spoke more loudly than any words we could share.

Comment by Diana Troldahl 11.16.09 @ 6:00 pm

What a perfectly lovely post! Isn’t it just amazing how our projects and yarn know where they need to go?

Que bonita!

Comment by Mokihana 11.16.09 @ 9:43 pm

PS…. Don’t you just LOVE Lisa’s colorways?

Comment by Mokihana 11.16.09 @ 9:44 pm

What a great translation!

Comment by twinsetellen 11.18.09 @ 5:22 pm



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