Prayer Flags

Whew, where has the week gone? We've been busy with a dear out of town guest, have gone to some museums, and have been enjoying a couple of spectacular fall days, but I have not been here in several days now. It's nice to be back!

For many years, Ben and I had Tibetan prayer flags hanging in our home-- a gift from a friend who spent time living in a region of India where many Tibetan refugees live. The prayer flags eventually frayed, got bleached in the sun from hanging on our porch, disappeared. But I always loved having cloths hanging in our home that had prayers written across them. It was a beautiful symbol-- a reminder to surround myself, my home, in prayer.

There are several pieces of fabric that I have been trying to find something to do with-- special pieces of fabric. An upholstery cover from a chair that we long had in our home, fabric from a dress that I wore on our honeymoon (I actually wore when leaving our wedding), little swaths of memories-- links to special times, friendships, places. So I finally decided to make my own little memory-prayer flags. Not with prayers written across them, but with memories and prayers embedded into them: the giddy excitement of beginning our marriage, the sweet comfort of our first home together, the memory of the easy company of friends as we looked for fabric in thrift stores. Prayers and hopes and memories strung up together and keeping our family company. Reminding us.

So I made my own prayer flags-- which I suppose I will eventually remove from our living room and take out only for special celebrations, but which have now been hanging in our home for a couple of months. Why not?