Today was our long awaited day for our first drop off of our blessing gowns for Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. All day I eagerly anticipated being able to see this project finally reach the stage of handing them over. I also looked forward to meeting the women who will be in direct partnership with us, as a liaison between all of the quickly growing volunteers we have and the families who need our help.
I never anticipated it going so well. The nursing staff was completely gracious, had dinner, drinks, and dessert for us. They sat and visited with us, admired our work, and we had a really good time getting to know the person we will be in direct contact with the most. It was exciting on so many levels. It was so nice to get their stamp of approval. We have poured our hearts into these little gowns and hats and while mistakes are cheap in our line of work and we are flexible to adjust to their needs, we still hoped we were on the right track. As far as we can tell we exceeded their expectations. They softly stroked and ooed and ahhhed over each item they looked at. Throughout our visit, we kept exchanging "thank yous". They are thankful for the chance to better serve their patients and we are thankful to find a ministry that allows us the chance to be at home with our kids, but to still serve others.
On a personal note, it was so exciting to me to look forward to the possibility of one day sitting in an L&D break room on my own shift. It was so neat to look up on the monitor and see the women's contractions, knowing they were laboring away in their rooms, ready to usher in new life and to think that these women get to do that every day they work. They must have vast stores of good memories to help them deal with the harder times that will lead them to use our gowns. It was also wonderful to have Johnny with me, to show him off, and to proudly exclaim that he was born there (on Halloween I would happily add).
If you would have told me all the wonderful things that I would be a part of a year ago, I would have been pretty skeptical. But the more I do, the more I pour out, the more I receive, and the more I am fulfilled. Thank you to God, who knits us together and knows us beyond how we know ourselves. While we don't understand why some lives do not make it beyond the womb or may not make it far past the womb, we pray for comfort and strength for these families. We are honored to be a part of meeting their needs and we pray that we will continue to be guided on how to serve them.
If you drift through Facebook, please check out our page to keep up with what we are doing. We are Tiny Blessings and will continue to post as we work hard on these items.
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