BOOK REVIEW
All the Steps I Have Taken Then and Now
—by Linda L. Christianson
“Our lives are like quilts – bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love.” –Anonymous
Linda Christianson loves to quilt. Writing her memoir, much like creating a quilt, must have given her an important chance to examine and then thoughtfully interlace the pieces of her life together.
As she put pen to paper, Linda had to examine and reflect upon each piece of her life– growing up as a child who was living with polio, starting a career as a young woman, getting married, having children and now enjoying grandchildren. Weaving with words, she put her life in order–just as the quilter does when methodically sewing together colorful fabric shapes into what eventually becomes a fully congruent work of art.
Taking a look at one’s life with polio can be a grueling experience that takes gut-wrenching courage. One must unearth those deep childhood sorrows, the agonizing emotional horrors, physical losses, and frightening medical lacerations. Then the writer must somehow put them into perspective–explaining the pain and healing process from an adult point of view. That’s a lot of work.
But the reward for that arduous research and reflection is being able to finally and fully see the fiber of our life as a whole–to know our personal story as its own unique, intricate, even awe-inspiring narrative. Once the big picture crystallizes, the question soon becomes “how will we choose to frame our autobiographical portrait?” What spin do we want to put on our life as a whole?
Christianson has clearly chosen her spin. As she reviewed her life’s difficulties, she also took a fresh look at all of the wonderful people, family and friends, who had influenced and strengthened her through so many decades. Having developed a strong spiritual life, she reassessed with gratitude the fortunate circumstances and beautiful places she has known.
As she revisited her hospitals, and recounted her numerous summertime surgeries, her split sized orthopedic shoes, crutches, and unwanted leg braces, she also described sunshiny childhood memories on the family farm…
“Despite the crutches, I was still able to get to the top of the corn crib, which was where we had a playhouse. We would build all our furniture and cupboards out of wooden peach crates left from my mother’s canning. Climbing up wasn’t very easy, but my arms were strong, and the slivers I got in my knees as I pulled myself up were easy to get out. What fun we had!”
Then moving forward, as we all do somehow, she described pulling herself through adolescence and up into adulthood. She worked hard, went to school, established a career as a helping professional, married, taught her kids to always do well at whatever they tried, and now in her sixties, is quoted as saying, “busy people always have time to help out.” Today Linda visits classrooms of elementary school children and is an invited speaker at community meetings. She wants to provide support, encouragement and a little enlightenment about life’s possibilities. She shares the “Four P’s” which are her personal guidelines for weaving a rich and colorful life:
Prayer, Prioritizing, Patience, and Persisting
1. “Each day must start with time for PRAYER using my Thomas Kinkade devotional book and having my first cup of coffee.” Her daily readings are from Beside Still Waters, published by Thomas Nelson in 1994. “It has the most beautiful pictures on every page.” She also reads Seasons of Light and Beyond the Garden Gate. “Any one of these books I can pick up and read and feel so relaxed from the words and from the paintings I find there.”
Click here to find Thomas Kinkade’s devotionals on Amazon
2. PRIORITIZING is very important for me as I always want to accomplish more than I should. Planning to do the things that must be done is necessary and then I can look ahead if my mind and body agree on doing more.
3. Next is PATIENCE as I [carefully place and strap] my long left leg brace [on my leg] so that I will be able to walk.
4. PERSISTING is just sticking with the project until it is completed.
Poliomyelitis, at a very young age, is the reason for all these “P’s.” I stay focused on them all day through, and with God’s guidance my days are wonderfully full. It is important to me that I live my life as a canvas, putting all the color I can into it.
Actually, I think Linda might want to incorporate a “Fifth P” into her schema that can be seen as a metaphor for what she is doing these days as a woman who had polio and has made life work.
That obvious “P” to me would be her productive, passionate and pleasurable post-polio pastime: Patchwork Quilting! She even says, “My favorite pastime is quilting– putting those pieces together to blend and make a most beautiful piece of art. It is like…. all the happiness and goodness…in my life.
“I weave in faith, and God finds the threads.” –Linda L. Christianson
Linda welcomes your messages to exchange ideas about quilting or to discuss her book about growing up with polio in rural Minnesota. To connect, send a message through her Facebook page. Or use this email address: llcallthesteps@gofast.am
If you would like to have a copy of Linda’s 93-page chronicle for your personal library, here’s how–click on the picture below…
P.S. Have you written a book? If you would like to have it showcased on this blog, please contact me at sunnyrollerblog@gmail.com.
Have you ever thought about the major turning points in your life with polio?
What kept you going?
Ever considered writing a personal memoir describing your life experiences–for your children and grandchildren to read and treasure as they focus on living their lives successfully? Bet you’d have some great ideas for them.
