Journal prompt - What do I see?

One of my core beliefs is that life is what I choose to make of it.  

This belief is one of the reasons I journal, mostly because I so easily loose track of that fact.  

That's also why I love scrap quilts. Taking bits and pieces that might otherwise be thrown away, then making a whole of some sort out of it, is a particular fascination of mine.

I am a professional longarm quilter. As much as I love the amazing piecing of some of my customers, I also love those tops that were left in drawers, closets or chests, just waiting to be finished.  

One of my specialties is working with antique and vintage quilt tops that are less than perfect, and since a finished top is not a quilt until it is quilted, it is often my job to take patchwork that is NOT square or straight and stitch it into submission.

Yes, they sometimes are more work to quilt.  It would be easy to look at these tops and see only imperfection, but as I work with each emerging quilt, especially those that started out ...ummm... wonky like the three pictured,  I see the thought put in each stitch.  The Grandma's Flower Garden at the top was made with small scraps cut into hexagon shapes and diamonds and put in a wooden chest, probably because of it's many imperfections. The Double Wedding Ring was finished with fabric that doesn't match and was found in the same chest.  The bottom was constructed from scraps of clothing by the elderly mother of one of my customers.  

These tops sometimes defy description.  When I look at the folded, finished top, what do I see?  Is it just a wad of fabric that's going to be a lot of work or do I see the possibilities? In all three quilts there was both machine and hand piecing, fabric of different types and styles, points that don't match, and obvious defects, yet, like my life (when I stop long enough to look) I see possibilities.  Something beautiful can came from the imperfect jumble if I just take the time, effort, and energy (and prayer) to make it so.  Instead of a mess, I can choose to see the time, patience and dedication it took to piece tops like this and how beautiful the finished quilts will be.  

Just like my life.

How about you?  When you look at the patchwork of your life, what do you see?