Stories are an important part of shared family history. And sometimes the yarn that is spun is, well, actually yarn. My mom crocheted all the time. Bibs for babies and nursing home residents. Place mats, pot holders and oven mitts for everyone she knew. My favorite was the cozy and warm afghans.
In the year before she passed away, she agreed to crochet one more project for me: Christmas stockings. This was a sentimental project. Before kids, my sister had crocheted two Christmas stockings for my husband and me. Now, two kids and one daughter-in-law later, I wanted to complete the collection. I purchased jumbo skeins of yarn, mailed the package to my mom and looked forward to hanging the stockings made with love.
But the stockings never arrived. My mom physically could no longer crochet. What had been a fluid motion for her had simply stopped functioning. Plan B was for my mom to teach me how to crochet. Only the words wouldn’t come. My mom tried, but she couldn’t articulate the process for me to mimic.
Illness had robbed my mom of her passion. Illness robbed me of my mom. When she passed away, I donated the yarn, but kept all her crochet needles. The Christmas stocking project was forgotten. Until I discovered that my son’s girlfriend crocheted – a lot.
I bought yarn once again and the lessons began. This time from the younger generation to the older generation. Stockings in bright Christmas colors of red, green and white began to take shape from my mom’s crochet needle. The yarn that was spun spanned three generations from my mom’s passion to my sister’s gift to my son’s girlfriend’s willingness to share her talents.
This Christmas, I will be hanging the stockings with care and celebrating love. For love is the common and the most beautiful thread through the generations in our family and in the family of God.
1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Lamentations 5:19
You, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.
Snowdrops for faith 
That was a very touching and beautiful story. Ah, I think you might quietly tell your son that this girl is a keeper!
Ginene
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Ginene, I think he already knows it! 🙂
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The best and true gift of Christmas is indeed love. Love between families. Love that connects us all generation after generation, season after season. Love that God gives us continuously, generously everyday. Happy New Year. God bless you and your family always.
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Island Traveler, Like the Beatles song, “All you need is love.” You nailed it! 🙂
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The Christmas Stockings that are used to store our Treasures reminds us to store up Treasures in Heaven, kindness is a Treasure, it’s part of Love and when we show it like your Mum did, your Sister and now your Son’s girlfriend and of course you too Debbie always show kindness, then great will be the reward and that is not just a yarn.
Christian Love and Blessings – Anne
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I liked the connection between all the generations to bring about the completed stockings! You are right, kindness and love were freely given along with the “stockings.”
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