Handle With Care

Babies are the sweetest thing.  They’re innocent.  They make the sweetest faces and sounds.  They take in the great big world with awe and wonder.  And though nothing makes me smile more than these cute little creatures, they also terrify me.  Well, not all babies.  Just the BRAND new ones.  I like my babies with more world experience.  Like at least 3 months old.  Then they’re not as intimidating.

Considering my stance on new babies, my next statement may surprise you.  I used to hold babies at the hospital.  I wasn’t a weirdo that stalked the baby unit.  A friend posted on Facebook some years back that hospitals needed volunteers to hold sick babies in the hospital.  Some of the babies were in foster care.  Other babies had families that had to work.  I did some research and discovered that it was indeed a real thing.  I signed up and started the process.

The process to be approved is time consuming.  They do criminal background checks.  They check references.  I had a sit-down interview.  They also provided hands on training.  Honestly, it was more intense than any job interview process that I have been through.  Which makes sense.  These are defenseless babies.  And time and time again, we see just how crazy this world can be.  After the process was over, I was released to begin my once a week shift.

During training, I began to realize that not only had I volunteered to hold babies, but I volunteered to hold babies in the hospital.  This meant that these kids were more fragile than the typical infant that I shied away from.  What was I thinking?????  My heart was beating rapidly when I walked into the hospital to start my first volunteer shift.

The nerves wore off as my shift progressed.  I learned the stories of a couple of kids.  My heart melted.  I sat in the rocking chair and talked to one precious little baby for an hour.  I just rocked and talked….rocked and talked.  I tried to explain the world.  I read books.  I hummed nice songs.  Before I knew it, my first shift had ended.  I clocked out and ventured back into the real world.

My baby holding volunteer days were a short season in my life, but they hold a special place in my heart.  My fear of teeny tiny babies decreased dramatically.  My ability to love increased ten-fold.  Those little babies gave me perspective on surviving in a cold and sometimes cruel world.  For all of the millions of reasons to be downtrodden, they give me reason to smile.  The odds were often stacked against them, but time and time again, I saw them survive and thrive. 

Those babies were strangers who changed my life.  In reaching out to help them, I really helped myself.  I’m convinced that loving on those who are fragile and hurting and wounded has the power to heal.  Not only the person who is damaged but also the person giving the love.  #wepreach