Casandra Martin

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
– Matthew 5:9

I love quilts. Quilts always tell a story about the person who put it together. It reveals something special about their passions, perseverance, and perspective. I am not very good at quilting, but I am fascinated with the idea of taking pieces and making them into something whole, unique, and beautiful.

Quilts don’t begin as the colorful, soft blankets that enwrap us in warmth. They start out as pieces. Quilts have to be made. They have to be put together, basted, stretched, and sewn. It is only after time, love, energy, resources, and effort have been invested that we have a quilt to enjoy.

Piecemakers and peacemakers have a lot in common.

The seventh blessing Jesus extends to those who walk with His heart is to the peacemakers. God promises to bless, work deep inside of, those who are willing to look at the scattered pieces around them and imagine that they could be bound together by grace into something unique and beautiful. Just like a quilt, it takes a peacemaker to bring the pieces together.

Peacemaking may be the riskiest blessing that Jesus speaks. It requires me to choose inclusion over comfort, kindness over cattiness, patience over pride, and vulnerability over safety. Grace and love have to be sewn into every encounter, every conversation, and every exchange.

My Jesus Resolution today is to sew peace. Heart pieces are fragile things. It doesn’t take much to make us feel tattered and torn. Peacemakers look for ways to join people together. They are bridge makers, not wall builders. A peacemaker extends grace and speaks love even if someone is different, demanding, or difficult. Jesus is a Peacemaker. He takes our ripped, ragged remnants and pieces them together into something that tells a story about grace, goodness, and God. When I follow in His steps, others can see His story written in me.