Covered in Love

As I smoothed my hands over the mismatched edges of my rectangle of fleece, the jolt of the old familiar choke caught in my throat. "Oh, how I would have loved to work on this blanket with Mom. She would have  been all over this." I let myself imagine us together in her living room, snipping away while we watched the Food Network, knotting and talking while we work.

Losing your mother is not the same as losing your baby. I would never say that I know the taste of that pain. But something in me leaped with urgency when I heard about "Covered in Love Ministries" from my friend here in Raleigh. I went out and bought some fleece just a few days later. Today, that same friend hosted a Blanket Party at her house, and I had bleary tears in my eyes for most of the afternoon.

The founder of the organization, Lisa, was there to show us how to make the (incredibly simple) blankets and tell us her story, and the story of how a ministry grew from the searing pain of loss. A few years ago, Lisa lost a baby just a few weeks from delivery. Her grief was unbearable. She told her husband that she would never ever smile again, and the whole world felt bleak. A friend from her church sent her a simple fleece blanket. Two big rectangles of fleece, fused into blanket form by cutting neat little strips all the way around and tying the strips together into knots that formed little tassels. As she tied each knot, her friend wrote, she said a prayer for her. Lisa said it was the most meaningful gift she had ever received, and she turned a corner in her grief at that moment. She was inspired. She went to her church to ask if she could do this for other women, and they told her that another woman in their congregation had just gone through the same infant loss, and also wanted to start a ministry for grieving women. They got together, and Covered in Love Ministries was formed.

They started making blankets and giving them out to people through word of mouth. Friends of friends. Sisters. Daughters. Co-workers. Each blanket has a little card attached to it by a little tack pin that says "HOPE" on it. The card states that the blanket was crafted with love by a volunteer who prayed for you with each knot. And that they hope the blanket reminds you that you are Covered in God's Love.

Lisa told stories of women's hearts beginning to heal through the simple gift of knotty fleece. Not only were the recipients healing, but Lisa, her friend, and other woman who have faced the same grief and chosen to help make a blanket were also experiencing healing.

Blankets were being made and given, and supply pretty much kept up with demand. Then, through a series of Spirit-lead events, Lisa and her friend were invited to present their idea and their work to a local (secular!) hospital. The hospital stated that over 450 babies pass away each year before or during childbirth, or through still birth or soon after birth. The hospital recognized that they were not serving the grieving mothers well, and they wanted to make a meaningful effort. Would Covered in Love Ministries help them provide these blankets to all the women who suffer infant loss? Lisa and her friend were stunned. Not only would God's love be spread through these simple blankets for mourning women, but 450 blankets is a whole lot of blankets!

And that was how I found myself on the floor of my new friend's living room with some sewing shears and yards of fleece splayed out in front of me. Home-based blanket parties are popping up all over Raleigh. All you need is a pair of scissors and 3 yards of fleece per person. It took us about 2 hours to make two blankets each, and that was even with a lot of chatting and snack breaks. I found myself praying for things that seemed to pop into my head and heart as I tied each knot. I don't know who will wrap up in that blanket, but the Lord does, and I felt privileged to be able to pray for her. A woman I will never know, but for whom I have already shed some tears.

As we were cleaning up, Lisa shared that she knows that God intended for her to be the mother of her sweet son who never got to be born. And that the life he didn't get to have has already touched more lives than many people who live to be 90. That kind of perspective could only have come from some deep, deep healing. That all started with a blanket.

Check out Covered in Love and think about making a blanket, or hosting a party. There are lots of ways to get involved even if you don't live in NC!