On the 4th day of Christmas I gave away four baby outfits.
Not just any outfits, MY little girl’s clothes that I had been holding onto for years. Come to think of it, it had been 4 years! I am by no means a hoarder, but I am a sentimental gal and I love baby girl clothes. And I’m sure not every one will agree that I needed to part with these precious items. However, when I heard of the need, that sweet soft voice of my Savior whispered in my ear, “Why do you hold so tightly to what will fade away?”
There was a young mother of three children (all under the age of three) in my Bible study group. I had only met her once. She joined the group hoping to come each week but soon realized the task of getting three tiny ones out the door by 9:30am. She only made it the first week.
It was only a few years ago that I was living those mornings. I only had two children though and they were not that close together in age. I remember one word that would characterize those days: tired. And when needs arose it was very easy to become overwhelmed and discouraged.
So here I am a few years past this phase and I’m in a position to help this mom. I stare at these four little outfits. One my little girl wore at Christmas time. It has the word “JOY” across the chest, her middle name. Two of them are those long nightgowns with elastic on the bottom. A new mom’s favorite for those late night diaper changes. One of the gowns has a picture of a hippopotamus mommy and baby on it. At that time, my son was 3 and he couldn’t say “hippopotamus.” It came out “hippo-topless.” The last of the outfits was a lime green matching onesie and pants. Everything about the ensemble screamed “cute.”
My memories led to the new mom in need of clothes for her newborn and her two older children. I fold the clothes neatly and put them in a box. I say a prayer for her and her priceless babies. Then that familiar whisper returns, “Now she will be able to create treasured memories with these clothes.”
Sometimes we hold onto sentimental things in fear of losing the memories we hold so dear. In reality, this may be keeping a blessing from someone else.
Copyright 2014 Hope Wingate
Join us this week as we celebrate Christmas with our annual 12 Days of Christmas series.
About Hope Wingate
My name is Hope Wingate. I live in Hoschton, GA with my brilliant husband, Jonathan and two incredible children: Aaron who is 7 and Adaira who is 4. I am a very enthusiastic stay-at-home mom and homeschooler. My heart beats for encouraging young mothers and I enjoy lead teaching classes for my local homeschool co-op. In my spare time I enjoy: sewing, rubber stamping, reading and watching BBC shows on Netflix.