Tiny Sleeping Babies

I have a bassinet and a baby swing I haven't been able to let go of. Through the years, I have moved it from place to place. Even when there was no baby coming (that I knew of) I held on to them. I loaned out the bassinet once for a nephew to use but that was as far as it went.

The cribs have come and gone. I haven't developed an emotional attachment to them like these two items.

Our swing was a gift from some precious friends before B was born. It was a time of pure joy as we anticipated the birth of our long awaited child. That swing has logged countless hours rocking our babies back and forth. 

The bassinet I purchased used. I can't even remember where I got it. It rolls just right and the little canopy is so cute. It is the perfect height to have next to the bed. How many times did I pull that little bassinet close to me in the middle of the night? How many times did I scoop up a tiny, crying baby to feed and comfort back to sleep?

I sort of have a request of the Lord. I don't want to know when it is all over. I don't want to know when the babies will stop coming.

I intend to go out in a blaze of glory! 

Squishy baby glory! 

No sadness that this is my last one.

Always a little glimmer of hope that perhaps another baby blessing will come my way.

It has to come to an end at some point. I know that. 

When it does, I hope it comes quietly. 

Followed by grandbabies preferably. 

I looked at the bassinet and swing again recently. They had been in storage at our old house. When they arrived here, the old familiar thoughts came to my mind...

"We must keep them. I will find a place to store them. After all, ALL of my babies have used them. How would I feel if I had another baby and he or she didn't get to use them. I would be so sad!"

Then a small, gentle voice said to me, "That is not true anymore. Not ALL your babies have used them. It is time to let them go."

Suddenly images of Mei Mei (our 3 year old daughter waiting for us in China) flooded my mind. She never slept there. It is not true anymore.

Just like that, I knew it was time.

I heard that a friend had started a ministry out of her home called, "The Refuge." She is taking in young ladies who are pregnant and have no where else to go. This kind of ministry is near and dear to my heart. I contacted her to see if she wanted my bassinet and swing. Her answer was, "Yes!"

I told her in a message that, "I have cried some tears over these items. All my babies have used them. I haven't been able to let go. Recently I felt a push to bless someone else with them. Now that Mei Mei is coming home I need to release them. Now not all my babies have used them."

She wrote back, "What a blessed treasure we are receiving! I know the very fabric is permeated with love. We will not take this precious gift for granted. I know it will bless many mamas and babies."

Just days after the bassinet and swing were settled into their new home, the mama living there gave birth to her son. He now takes up residence in the bassinet. She pulls him close in the middle of the night. Oh the joy I feel knowing that her tiny bundle of love is in that bassinet.

The Lord allowed me to meet her and her sweet baby just a few nights ago. He didn't have to arrange that but He did. It was the sweetest love note He could have possibly given me.

I don't know the rest of the story for me. Will there be more newborns? I have no idea. God knows my story. He already has it written. I am having a blast turning each new page.

The current chapter I am on is titled, "Mei Mei" and it is getting really good! I can only imagine what these pages will hold.