Bandaged Babies

It was a cold winter day. The plastic windows snapped in the wind and the fire in the wood stove crackled and popped. It was too cold to play anywhere but by the fire.

An upturned block of firewood stood by the wood stove where my dad had sat warming himself after a cold day of work. I thought the piece of firewood would be the perfect place to keep my poor naked doll warm. I put her down for a nap on the block of wood. When I came back for her I was horrified to find that half my doll was melted out of shape! I ran to my mother crying with my disfigured baby in my arms.

Now my mother did the most tender and thoughtful thing. She took my plastic baby doll and bandaged her with gauze and medical tape. Then she wiped my tears and handed her back to me. Although I wasn’t much older than the age of four the  memory has stuck in my mind as one of the most tender memories of my mother.

Today I again find myself crying not over my plastic baby doll but over my grown up real live babies. Life is hard and sometimes cruel. My heart aches, it writhes in pain wishing I could protect them from the scorching heat of this life. I again run to loving arms that promises not only to wipe away my tears, but also to bandage their wounds… With arms outstretched I hand my daughters over to Him.

“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds” Psalm 147:3 

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”  Revelation 21:4