My sweet little Emme is already 4 months, almost 5! Unbelievably, that means the first section of the closet doesn’t fit her anymore. So here I am packing up a box of all of the cute little baby girl items…
Part of me just wants to hold on to all of it. Just keep it. For what purpose? I don’t know… “this one was a gift, oh this one makes me think of that one memory, oh and this is what she wore in our family pictures…” But moving through several different seasons and witnessing God’s faithfulness and generosity towards us has taught me a different way…
Instead of resisting, here is what I do as I pack this up and plan to give it away.
1) Thankfulness
With each little item I intentionally cherish everything that goes with it and pray my thanks. “Thank you for sweet friends that gifted this. Thank you for my thoughtful mom. Thank you for that treasured moment. Thank you for the gift of my little ones. Thank you for this season – this short window of time and all that we get to experience. Thank you for your strength and grace and all of the joy as we walked through these months.”
2) Let Go
Pause and specifically recognize that there is nothing in this life that we get to keep. I think this somehow contributes to the sacredness of each gift, each season, each moment. We get to enjoy it for a time (so make sure to enjoy it!!!) but then, at some point it will be done. I love in Psalms 119 it talks about how “everything has its limit”. So I set my heart and hands on being open. With every gift there is a reverence for the time. I receive it with open eyes and sobriety and I let it go when the time comes.
3) Pray for Opportunity
For anything I have that I am done with, I try to make it a point to give it away intentionally. Even if it was treasured in it’s time, I pray for an opportunity for it to bless someone the same way it blessed me. “Lord who can I give this to? I pray that is would be the needed blessing for the season. That you would shower your goodness on someone through this the same way you did for me. Show me where you want this to go Lord.”
4) Expectation
Recognize that no matter what I give away… even if I give all of it away… His goodness stays with me. There have actually been several times where we have given away more than was probably wise and I had thoughts like “well, there goes all of it!” and yet, somehow God’s generosity towards me always seems to outpace my ability to give it away. Whenever I have that feeling that I want to horde something, I have found it is usually related to a thought something like… “this is my last $100!”… that I might have already used up all God’s goodness towards me in the past… or just generally a thought that what I already have might be the best or the most I will ever have… but actually, I have found that I can give and give and give and give again, and trust that God’s goodness towards me is without end. I don’t have to fear for the future. I don’t have to make sure to KEEP anything. GOD IS MY KEEPER. Just as He has given to me, I can give with joy and thankfulness, and expect that he will provide and supply His goodness towards me in the future just like he did in the past.
So today, I am thankful for my sweet Emme, the love and support of friends and family. I am cherishing the moment and the memories, and letting go of this infant season with her. And praying for another new momma, that these things would bless her in her season. And thanking the Lord for His goodness and mercy that follows me into this new season as well.