The Gift

I shared this story with you earlier this week ...


On the "wanted" pages (of Craigslist), I found a young mom desperate for a Crib for her 16 month old son.  She has lost her house, doesn't have a car, and sounds to be just a very needy young mom. And, guess what?  Our crib hadn't sold at the garage sale, either.  I popped her an email telling her that we would love to give her a crib.  We will be delivering it to her tomorrow.


On Wednesday, we pulled out the old crib to make the delivery (to the motel this young mom is living at).


When we had gotten it out for the Garage Sale, we knew it was missing a couple of nuts and bolts, but were willing to sell it cheap, knowing the new owner could go buy whatever was needed.  However ... we were now not selling an old crib ... we were giving a gift ... and the Lord clearly told me that I needed to care about what type of gift I was giving (and not just be excited to clean out the garage).


We took a few minutes to find out what it needed, popped the crib in the back of Ben's new truck, and Ben and I headed to the hardware store for nuts, bolts, and new wheels.  Then off to a nearby town we headed, to find the motel.


Now, I had told this young mom right up front that we only had the crib frame, and that we didn't have a mattress.  She said not to worry, she would find a mattress.  But ... the Lord spoke clearly again:  this was to be a gift ... a nice gift ... a gift from Him ... and it needed to be ALL that this mom needed in a crib.


Ben and I drove up to this motel with absolutely no idea what type of situation we were walking into.  All we knew was there was a mom that needed a crib.  It was a bit unnerving to walk up to the door of the motel room.  But, I knew that the Lord had directed us here.


What we found was a sweet young family that had had some tough breaks.  The husband had been unemployed much of the year.  They were evicted from their apartment for failure to pay their rent.  They had lived with his Grandma, but she had just moved across the country.  So, here they were ... in a motel room ... with their 16 month old son ... who had broken his playpen by jumping too hard ... and they needed a crib.


After setting up the crib, I asked if they had gotten a mattress for it.  "No."  I told them that we would head to the nearby city and return with a mattress. Into the city we headed ... 


Not having bought a crib mattress in who knows how many years, I didn't even know where to buy one, nor how expensive they are.  (But, trusted that the Lord knew all of that ahead of time.)  We struck out at the first store.  (I KNOW they sold crib mattresses there about 10 years ago.)  Then off to Target we headed.  It's been a very long time since I've shopped in the Baby Section, but I found my way around and checked things off my list ...


Crib Mattress - check


Crib Sheet - check


Comfy Baby Blanket - check


Cute Pajamas for the Little Guy - check




Back to the motel we headed, REJOICING that the Lord has BLESSED us so that we can BLESS others.  


Seriously.  Shopping for this baby stuff was much more fun than the re-decorating shopping I've been doing.  I was so BLESSED to have the opportunity to give this young family such an unexpected GIFT.


Today, this young mama and I have exchanged several emails.  She wrote to thank me ... but she also wrote to share her story.  And, she wrote to ask me if I could teach her some things about parenting.  This young couple is all alone ... with no involved friends or family ... trying desperately to learn how to make their marriage work, how to make things work financially, and how to parent.


When I found the "wanted" ad by a mama that needed a crib, it was the very first time I had ever looked at the "wanted" section.


When this young mama placed her ad for a "crib wanted", it was the very first time that she had ever placed a "wanted" ad.


God knew.


God directed.


I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for this new relationship.  I am sure that it is about more than just cribs, sheets, blankets, and cute jammies.


Please pray for this sweet young family ...