It's a long story but a recent plumbing issue has caused us to redo some things in our kitchen/living area. (Yes the week before Christmas! Argh!!!!) Anyway, since we are redoing floors and rearranging we decided to sell our sofa and love seat, and get a sectional. I got a few bidders on Craigslist and Facebook... but one inquiry really stood out, and captured our hearts.
A single mom with two little girls who couldn't afford our asking price. She was recently living in the shelter and has since found a place. But she didn't have a bed and was hoping our sofa could serve as a sitting and sleeping area. Of course, we decided just to give them to her, along with some other things... including my 7-year old, Abby's, gigantic dollhouse! ABBY wanted the little girls to have it. While I was messaging the woman about it, Abby disappeared. I went upstairs and found her in her room, cleaning out the dollhouse. She had a sad look on her face. I made her sit on my lap for a minute.
"You don't HAVE to give it away, honey," I told her. The tears came. They poured. "I know," she cried.
"I WANT to." The image of her crying is forever burned in my mind. My mommy heart wanted her to just keep the dollhouse so she didn't feel this way. But my Christian heart WANTED her to feel it. I wanted her to know the pain of separating from material things... because I knew the joy that was coming. I knew the trade-off. I knew the feeling she would get when that family came to pick it up. And I didn't want her to miss out on that.
Of course, I didn't want her heart to break... but I knew it would be slight compared to the way it would soon swell with joy. But I kept quiet. It had to be Abby's choice. "I want to give it away, Mom," she said. She wiped her tears away and continued cleaning the dollhouse.
Tonight, when they came to pick it up, Abby was eager to show them where it was. In awe, the Mom put her hands over her mouth and stood there silent, visibly moved at the sight of it. Abby watched the speechless woman, smiling ear to ear. My daughter was glowing. Ahhhh. There it was. She felt it. The swell. The mommy half of my heart high-fived the Christian half. And yes, it swelled.
Even though it's a cold and snowy night, Abby put her shoes and coat on and eagerly helped carry things out to the truck. They loaded the dollhouse and Abby didn't miss a beat. She never stopped smiling. In fact, when we came back in the house she said, "that was awesome." Yes. It was. It was Awesome.
Tonight, God aligned paths and moved hearts. He taught lessons and provided for needs. He was powerfully present, moving and working among us. But we had to release and let go first. Without the promise of reward. Exactly like Abby had done. Abby asked Santa for a new dollhouse this year - a Barbie Dreamhouse. She gave up her old dollhouse with no real promise of a new one coming. She just let it go, to make someone else happy. Her sacrifice was so much more than ours. We gave up our couches, yes, but new ones are being delivered tomorrow.
I'm sitting here thinking about the evening, and everything I learned from my beautiful 7-year-old. "And a child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6) I am so blessed to have her. By the way, I'm pretty sure she is on the nice list this year. I'm pretty sure Santa was watching tonight. 😉 Good night everyone. Peace...