Ugly Quilts

In 1985, in the rain, Flo's son was vomiting from his cancer treatments as they walked to a New York subway station. Commuters ignored them as she struggled with her suitcase. "You need help, lady?" somebody said. Flo saw a homeless man, in jeans, sneakers, and a cut-off army jacket. Feeling afraid, she declined. He insisted, picked up her suitcase, and led them to the subway which he boarded with them. After they got off, he hailed a cab. As she closed the door, Flo gave him five dollars, and heard him say, "Don't abandon me."
Flo Wheatley didn't abandon him. Back home, using old clothes, she sewed together her first sleeping bag. She delivered it to a man sleeping in a Manhattan doorway. She made eight more. As word spread, neighbors brought fabrics to her house. A church asked her to show them how to make the sleeping bags. She named her project, 'My Brother's Keeper Quilt Group', and the sleeping bags she calls 'Ugly Quilts', hoping that the name will show how easy they are to make. There's a one-page instruction sheet. Type "ugly quilt instructions" into your browser. Materials include bedspreads, drapes, blankets, mattress pads, fiberfill, and neckties. Ugly Quilts spread nationally. By 1997, 100,000 were sewn and distributed. In 2004, the ugly quilt project was going strong.
Flo believes her chance encounter on her walk to the subway wasn't chance at all. She believes she encountered Christ in the homeless man.
Let's Pray: Dear God, chance encounters change lives. Give us ears to hear your voice today, give us gumption enough to listen. Amen.
Today's Thought Is: Don't just sit there, do something.
Sources:
Jan Spence, Sleeping Bags for the homeless, Share International Archives, http://www.share-international.org/archives/homelessness/hl-ssleepingbags.htm
Ugly Quilt instructions http://www.reese.org/sharon/uglyinst.htm
The Boston Ugly Quilt project http://www.tbpm.org/giving/ugly_quilt_supplies.html