My two grandchildren love blankets and quilts. Neither has ever taken to dummies or sucking thumbs, so their blanket is their comfort, and (like Linus) they drag these items around the house and outdoors, given half a chance. They have blankets at my house as well as at home; they play endless games with the blankets, using them as den roofs and sleeping floors as well as covering themselves up when sitting down. The blanket can become a royal robe, the cloak that covers. It’s an invaluable friend, a constant companion. If there’s only one blanket between two children, war is almost inevitable, as one blanket just isn’t big enough!
Proverbs 10:12 in the Message version says, ‘Hatred starts fights, but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.’
This is a powerful image for me. When the girls hide under their quilts, pretending to be mice as they squeak underneath, they are united in a game of hide-and-seek. The bickering has stopped. The squabbling is over. The quilt has, in their case literally, put a stop to the bickering as they enjoy the unity of a game where I have to find them.
‘Love pulls a quilt over the bickering.’ It stops us fighting and arguing. When we love, we are united with others. May love not only be our comfort blanket today, but may it put an end to our quarrelling and help us to pursue unity, not division.
