An Unexpected Gift

06-17-2010 090At 3:28 this morning we welcomed a new son into the world. As one would expect, congratulations and well-wishes have come flooding in from friends and family all day. And for all of these we have been moved and grateful.

First thing this morning, however, we received a congratulatory gift we hadn’t anticipated. Women housed in the Alexandria Detention Center had sent us a hand-crocheted blanket, cap and set of booties. (In Packer yellow-and-green for my Cheese-head wife no less).

Both modern and ancient scripture admonish us to serve the “least” of those among us, noting that doing so is akin to serving Christ himself. My wife and I found ourselves touched that, at such a sacred and spiritual time for our family as the birth of our new son, we had been remembered by some gracious women who, by some standard, might consider to be the “least” of those in our society today. Humbled by the act, we resolved to reach back out in some way to those women at the Alexandria Detention Center. Small acts of love are truly contagious.

10 comments for “An Unexpected Gift

  1. Sometimes you have to go through hell to get to heaven.

    There are a lot of good people who have changed themselves (as much as they could) because of the hard times they’ve had and the hard time they’ve done.

    May God bless them and change even more of our brothers and sisters, the prisoners and sinners, for the good deeds they do, despite the bad deeds they’ve done.

    Jon

  2. The fiberhead in me can’t resist pointing out that the gifts are actually crocheted, not knitted. (But they are certainly lovely.)

    [Editor: Thank You Katya]

  3. What a wonderful story…a great reminder to reach out in little ways to those around us, no matter who they are. Thanks for sharing!

  4. As a sheer matter of curiosity, how did the women at the detention centre know that you had a baby? Their gift truly has a special meaning as you have pointed out.

    This is a lovely post. Congratulations on your new arrival.

  5. My mother was just telling me the other day about a detention center or prison (I can’t remember which) that offers quilting as a means of redirecting the energies of its detainees and allowing them an opportunity to do good. That’s a beautiful gift.

    Congratulations to your family.

  6. Congratulations!
    One sister in my ward makes baby quilts and asks me to deliver them to the hospital, to be given to anyone there. The nurses keep them in a special closet and distribute them.
    When my daughter had a baby on Christmas eve four years ago, a family came to the hospital and gave fleece blankets to all the babies there that day. Now my daughter and her little girl carry on the tradition by making a fleece blanket and donating it to the hospital every Christmas eve.

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