Gloria Cotten

Some of you readers may not know that I had open heart surgery in 2014. It was a life-changer for me. Before surgery I was traveling full-time in ministry, mainly teaching and speaking to women but also ministering with my husband Michael. That all stopped after the surgery.

Something went wrong during the surgery. I lost a lot of blood, did not wake up for 3 days, and was very confused and disoriented when woke up. I was in the various levels of cardiac intensive care for almost 3 weeks. When I finally got home in familiar surroundings, the disorientation to time and place got better quickly. But I still had trouble with what the psychologists call sequencing. I could not put things together in logical order.The hospital therapist said I needed a project.

I said, “How about a quilt? I like to make quilts.”

She said, “Perfect!” However, she was not a quilter so she did not know what she was agreeing with!

When I began to feel better physically, I decided to start with a small quilt, but there was a problem. I could not remember how to start and I could not mentally process a written pattern.  Sequencing was missing. I wanted to make pillow shams for my bed, something I had done many times before, but I could not figure out how to do it. Then, one day I was sitting on the couch when how to start just popped into my head. I knew it was God speaking to me. So I went into the dining room where Michael had set up my sewing machine, and started. As I finished

First project after surgery.

the first step, I saw what to do next . . . and next . . . and next . . . until I had made a pillow sham. Then I made another, and then I made a pillow and another pillow, each project led in detail by the Holy Spirit.

Did you know that God can speak to us with such clarity and specificity on such a practical level? I didn’t. Of course, I knew He could speak that way — after all, He is God — but it was not my “norm” to experience it!

Then I had a dream and dreamed a quilt. It was God again. I knew it was God. But I didn’t know how to make it. So I prayed. And then, a few days later, I knew how to start! Just as with the first project, as I finished one step I would know what to do next. God was again leading me one step at a time. God was doing the sequencing for  me! It was amazing! I had never before designed a quilt — I had always followed another designer’s pattern — but here I was making original quilts. It was totally, awesomely supernatural!

I began to make quilts for my family. I would pray over each one and God would give me a design and tell me how to make it, one step at a time. Turns out it was the best therapy ever! The sequencing began to come back in my conversation, in my ability to write, in my ability to read with comprehension. God was restoring my mind.

Here is a quilt called “Like a Child” that I made during that first year. And here is another I made for my youngest granddaughter, Gloria Noelle.

Like a Child

I am still making quilts.

Gloria Noelle”s Quilt

Sequencing is improving.
Recently, God told me, “I  like how you follow me when you make a quilt.”

I have just opened a shop on Etsy to sell some quilts, both mine and those of my quilty friends. There are pictures of my most recent quilts there. You can find them through this link if you like. http://www.etsy.com/shop/gloriasquiltdesigns

Michael says God is downright chatty. God likes to talk to us. Hearing Him is a learning process. The key to the learning is trusting Him, trusting Him to speak so that I understand, trusting His voice and doing what He says, right down to the fine details. And the more you listen, the more you hear.

“and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. . . and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:3-4