Meaningful Use of Once-in-a-Lifetime Finery

Scrolling along Facebook the other day, I came across a post from the daughter of a woman who assisted my parents in one of our Salvation Army corps assignments (a lovely woman with great skill in quilting and sewing). She posted pictures of a small Build-a-Bear bear wearing a mock wedding dress alongside tiny baby garments. Her mother, Betsy Cox, had taken her wedding dress and created a small keepsake bear in remembrance of her wedding day. Then, she used the remaining fabric to sew bereavement outfits for stillborn babies. The daughter works as an OB nurse at a nearby hospital and takes the garments there to offer to grieving parents in their time of loss.

I lost a baby to miscarriage prior to the births of my three sons. My dear cousin, Karin, lost her first son, Adam, as a stillborn. This ministry is dear to my heart and I approached Betsy to ask if she had enough time to do the same with my wedding dress. I told her I'd be happy to pay her for the task. She graciously accepted and I shipped my wedding dress off to her.

The dress hung in a closet all these 28 years since its one-day use on August 4th of 1990. I will certainly never fit into it again - ha - and hope to never have need of another wedding dress. Moreover, God blessed me with sons instead of daughters. Their future wives will surely not want my dress. What better way to put it to use and bless others with the fine material.

Since I have collected monkeys from age seven, I asked if she could find a monkey for the keepsake dress. Here are some photos of her finished products. I feel so blessed by her willingness to take on this project: