The Lost Skirt

The Lost Skirt

April 17, 2015

I can count on my fingers the "Big" miracles that I've had in my life.  Most of them have been small and subtle ways that the Lord lets me know he is there.  I was struggling with faith and how I could actively use it in my life.  How could I "Come unto Him," if I didn't know what kind of action to take.  I was struggling with a particular issue in my life. I didn't like the pain and the path that I was asked to follow.  I wanted the pain to go away when I prayed and when I read the scriptures but it was still there.  I asked my husband how I could access the comfort and guidance of my Savior and he told me to count my blessing!

So, I had been praying with real intent but maybe for the wrong things. I wanted to take away pain and sorrow and that may not be what God wants for me.  I prayed this very day and thanks God for all my blessings. I felt better knows how generous He was to me in so many areas of my life.  I also prayed very specifically to have him to be with me all day.  I was worried about some upcoming events that day and I knew that I could not handle things by myself without getting all confused and bent out of shape in my mind.  I just asked “Please be by my side today so that I can handle the situations that may arise and I may deal with them the way you would want me to."   Basically that was it in a nutshell.

Well, the task for the day was to go the High School and get a skirt from the Dance Teacher so that I could make a few more skirts for the girls who's skirts were definitely too short.  I had seen the dress rehearsal the day before and I was uncomfortable watching them dance on stage with such tiny skirts covering them. I called the teacher and she agreed that a change would be good and actually they had talked about it and somebody had volunteered to do it, but nonetheless, it did not get done and the concert opening night was the next night.

I thought finding fabric to match the existing skirt would be easy.  I went to two fabric stores in Bountiful and asked every clerk available if they could match my fabric.  I came up short.  I then decided to drive to Layton to check Hancock fabrics.  I didn't have much time to drive further distances because I needed to get sewing! I had a friend Amy who was waiting at her house with scissors, newspapers and a sewing machine so we could hurry and get them sewn.  Well, after searching at Hancock fabrics with a clerk she told me that they just didn't have what I was looking for but that I should go look in the clearance fabric before I left, just to be sure.  I walked to the back of the store and found one bold of fabric that was the exact color that I needed.  I started to get hopeful that this would not be too difficult.

I took the fabric to the cutting counter.  The woman asked how much I needed and I simply didn't know.  I could make 4 skirts that were longer but then the rest would still be shorter. The fabric was not as sheer as the original and so I thought I had better make one for everyone.  The clerk was trying to tell me how to cut out the skirts with three inches added and then how to flip it to get more out of the fabric etc.  By this time my head was spinning and nothing she said made sense.  I told her that I was just going to cut them out, sew on a ribbon for wrapping the skirt around and that I would think about finishing them at a later date.  She then informed me that all the skirts would need serging if I used this fabric and that they would not be usable after one performance!  I felt sick.  I needed the color of the fabric but I didn't have a serger.

I sent an email to all the dance moms to see if someone had a serger and only one replied. She had access to one but could not help me because she was babysitting a lot of kids that day.  I asked Amy and she said she had a friend that could bring one over for us but neither of us knew how to use it.  And then the thread!  I would have to buy thread and I had no idea what kind of thread goes in a serger or how to put the thread in the serger etc etc.  The clerk could see I was getting overwhelmed and she asked me why I was the one doing this project if I didn't have the means or knowledge by which to do it.  (Well, that was what she was probably thinking)  I could tell she was getting impatient with me because I couldn't make a decision because I honestly didn't know what would be best.

Then, a woman with blonde shoulder length hair who was wearing a blue sweater and black glasses had been standing behind me at the cutting table. She had heard the whole story as to why I couldn't let my daughter wear the current skirt. She was an example of modesty and I just couldn't feel right about seeing her up there compromising her integrity. I had to stand up for what was right.  Well, this woman went and got a spool of thread that matched my fabric and she said, " If you buy 4 of these than I will serg them all for you!" I laughed out loud and said, “I can’t ask you to do that!  That is just crazy!"  She said, “Well, those girls simply can not wear those skirts!"  She was an angel from Heaven.  I knew I could not produce the skirts on my own so I agreed to pay for all the supplies and then I followed this Good Samaritan to her home in Syracuse almost to Antelope Island.  We went into her house; we introduced ourselves to each other. Her name was Paula.  She had everything set up in her basement to cut and serg 8 skirts.  I cut them out while she serged.  I did have to run to the store to get more ribbon for the ties but we had them all done under three hours. She said, “I have never sewn this fast and I feel like I  have had help today."

Paula and I visited and found out we had much in common. We both had French horn players about the same age who will be at BYU this fall.  He daughter was gluten intolerant just like my daughter Heather and she had a son who was smart and liked good food like my Taylor.  She had daughters too who had to find modest prom dresses which I related to and we didn't seem to run out of things to talk about. Before I took the skirts to leave, I told her that I didn't know too many people that would drop everything and help a stranger.  She told me that we need to look out for each other because "The three Nephites don't sew"

  As she was cleaning up the scraps & threads and ribbons,  she found a ninth skirt that had been serged. We had been so efficient at cutting them out that we accidentally cut an extra skirt. I just stuffed it in the bag with the others and promised her I would sew the ties on later after the concert.  She hates when things are not finished right and are left undone! Unlike me!  I promised to send her a photo of the girls in the skirts and then I gave her a hug and she graciously saw me out. I thought that was the end of my miracle!

I drove home with my finished skirts and quickly took a rest on the bed.  I was quite exhausted from all the emotion of running around and just the stress of it all.  Hanna came home and I pulled out the skirts. She was very happy with the end product. I counted all 8 skirts and put them back in the bag and then she took them to the concert.  I was getting ready to come over to the concert when I  got a text from her that said, “We need one more skirt! There is one girl without one."  I told her that I had made eight skirts and that both Paula and I had counted them several times.  I wondered how they could have lost a skirt in that short amount of time.  I took the extra skirt that didn't have the ribbon on it to the school and gave it to the girl who didn't have one.  After the concert we were talking about how one was lost and how that could be possible!! Then Hanna started counting again and she came up with 9 girls. We had needed 9  all along but I made 8 with an extra one showing up when we didn't expect it.  Truly we were all amazed at this miracle. 

After the concert a few of the dances came up to me and thanked me for making the skirts. They expressed that they felt more comfortable dancing in modest skirts as opposed to the ones that were offered.  It was really Paula who made them with God’s help!  She will never know how many people she blessed that day by saying yes to service and by having her eyes and ears open to the needs of a fellow traveler along this road we call life.   I hope that I have the opportunity to be the answer to a prayer or at least the catalyst for making someone’s day better than it would have been.  I hope that next time I seriously ask God for help, I won’t be surprised when he shows up after I have given my all, when I need him the most,  and with an  extra skirt thrown in just for fun.