Many of you know that Jeff and I will be participating in the show called A Kentucky Homespun Christmas Folk Art and Antiques Show, which will take place in Cave City, Kentucky on November 13th and 14th. I have been very busy getting everything ready for the show, and even though it has been stressful at times, I have truly enjoyed every minute of it. Today I wanted to share with all of you some of the samplers that will be available at the show. However, before I do, I wanted to give all of you some background on how I came to do the show this year.

I have written quite a bit about the struggles that I had in the recent past. If you have not read the story of my struggle, you can click on the “My Story” tab above to read more. When I was going through that difficult time in my life, I had to withdraw from almost everything I loved and had always held near and dear. I had to abandon many of the goals and dreams that I had once had for my life. When we are going through a dark time, there seems to be no time or hope for the dreams and goals that we once possessed.

I did the Kentucky Homespun Christmas show in 2012. I enjoyed it, but I went into it with the wrong attitude. I had expectations for myself that were unrealistic. I had never done a show like this before. I had always wanted to, but I never felt like I had anything that people would want to buy. Then I began stitching and thought that some people may be interested in buying some of my creations. I spent the entire summer getting ready for the show, and I built it up in my mind and expected it to be a huge success. I thought that I would sell everything I had made and that I would have peace in my life when these events unfolded.

When the show did not turn out as I had expected, I was discouraged and allowed myself to feel like a failure. I did sell samplers and everyone seemed happy with what I had made. It was a wonderful show to be part of and everybody was so nice. It was wonderful to get to connect with people I knew through my old blog and Facebook, Yesterday Once More. However, this was during a time in my life when everything was getting ready to fall apart for me. I did not realize that it was about to fall apart, but I think I sensed it in some way. I refused to focus on the positive side of doing the show and only chose to focus on the negative side which was entirely fabricated in my mind.

After the show, I felt like I had not done a very good job. I know now that I did the best that I could do and considering that it was the first folk art show that I had ever done, things went really well. During the late spring and early summer of 2013, my life began to spiral out of control, and I put down my stitching needle. I truly thought it was for forever. When the show was organized again, I was in no position to participate. I could not even go to the show. I was too depressed by my own problems even to attend.

In 2014, when the show took place again, I was beginning to pull myself out of the hole that I had created for myself. With the help of God, Jeff, family, and friends, I was beginning to see that there was still good left in the world. Jeff and I decided at the last minute to go to the show. I really do not think we would have gone had Stacee Droit, one of the show’s organizers, not sent me a text to remind me of the show. I truly cannot thank Stacee enough for sending that text. I am sure she had no idea what her contacting me would do for me. This is a prime example of how God can use all of us to help someone else. Many times, He uses us and we are not even aware of the good that we are doing. When I walked into the convention center in Cave City, I felt a familiar sense of peace that always surrounds me when I am around early primitives. It was the first time that I had been around the primitives I love in almost two years, and it was so good to be back home again.

Going to that show signified the beginning of my true healing process. I know it sounds strange to say such a thing, but it is very true. After being at the show in 2014, things continued to get better, and by January of this year, I decided that I should give the show another try. I texted Stacee and told her I was going to do the show again. She was very happy about it, and so was I. My goal was to start stitching in January and work all year. I thought this would allow me plenty of time to get ready for the show and keep me from getting too overwhelmed.

I remember the first time I stitched after I decided to do the show. It was early in the morning, and I sat in the living room of the apartment that I had rented and retrieved all of my stitching items. I put on a Christmas movie and started stitching. I had a momentary fear that I would not remember how to stitch because it had been nearly two years. However, I soon realized that stitching was like riding a bike. I did remember how. I cannot adequately tell you how each stitched strengthened my spirit that day. With each x I made I could feel my spirit getting stronger and stronger. I realize now that I was feeding my spirit, and I didn’t even know it. I cried almost the entire time I made that first sampler. They were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. I was so happy to be doing something that I loved again, and I was so happy to have the desire to do it.

My plan to stitch all year did not go as planned, but I continued to get ready for the show. There was a time where I thought that I would not be able to do the show, but in July, I kicked it into high gear fully committed to doing the show. I am going into this show with different expectations. It is not about selling my samplers. It is about returning to something that I love and about being able to participate in something that I thought I would never be able to participate in again.

I know that the show will be a success regardless of what I sell. It will be a success because it signifies the growth that I have made this year in my walk with God and in my walk with myself. It signifies that God can return something to us that we thought was lost forever. I recently wrote a post about getting back on the right path and how, when we do, God returns gifts to us. Doing this show is God returning a gift to me that I thought I had lost forever. It is a gift that I took for granted the first time, but one that I cherish now and will always be thankful for. God wants to return the things that feed our spirits when we are ready to receive them. I am so thankful that He has done this for me, and I know that He can and will do this for all of us. Getting back on the right path in life, feeding our spirits, and getting a second chance at life brings us peace and PEACE MATTERS.

~Dan~