Hand-Me-Downs

I have always loved hand-me-downs. Some folks don’t feel that way, but I’ve gotten some great pre-loved stuff. When I was two years old, we moved from Lynn Haven, Florida to Mobile, Alabama. That’s when I got one of my first major hand-me-downs. Our new next door neighbors were replacing some bedroom furniture and offered Mama their old stuff for me. She readily took the dresser and chest of drawers. Mama was very talented and creative. She could turn nothing into something better than anyone I knew. She painted and decorated that furniture and turned it into a little girl’s dream. If you’re wondering about the bed, I cried and didn’t want it. I was sleeping on a lumpy old roll away bed (yep – hand-me-down) and I LOVED it. Nobody else could last half an hour on it – which is exactly how it became a hand-me-down. But I thought it was the most comfortable bed that I could imagine. So, I dug my heels in, stood my ground, and got to keep it.

Mama made a lot of my hand-me-downs special. If someone gave me some clothes, she would always find a way to change them a little to make them mine. Not that it was necessary, because I would often rather have those hand-me-downs than something brand new. The queen of hand-me-downs just wasn’t that picky.

When I was about five, I got really sick. I very rarely got sick enough to have to go to bed, but this particular time, I was in bed for over a week. An eternity for me. Mama’s cousins had been to visit someone in the hospital and take them flowers, but the patient had already been discharged. Guess what I got. Hand-me-down flowers!

Anyway, back to the furniture. I used it for many years. And one day, Mama and Daddy decided to get me some new furniture – from a store. I didn’t know about it because it was a surprise. I came home one day and my old furniture was gone. It had been replaced by some beautiful new stuff that took my breath away. I had a bed (even I had to admit the roll away had finally worn out), a dresser, a chest of drawers, and a chest with a hutch. It was great! I was thrilled. I asked them why they did it. Daddy just said, “Look.” And on the shelf of the hutch was a little statue. Maybe you’ve seen one or something similar. In case you can’t read it, it says, “I love you this much.” I still have it, and here it is:

That is exactly how it is with God. He gives us everything and if we ever ask why, He just says, “I love you this much.” He gave us His Son – who also loved us enough to die for us. There is no such thing as hand-me-down salvation or Christianity. You have to get your own. It is free, brand new for every person, and waiting just for you.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him. 
Psalm 103:11