The very first kit I am offering for sale is the one I have named my  “Bluebird of Hope”.  I would like to explain how he came to be so named.

When I was a child, we sang songs in our music class about bluebirds.  There were also those adorable bluebirds in Disney’s “Cinderella” that were instrumental in turning her from a scullery maid into a princess.  Who wouldn’t love those bluebirds who sang along with “Snow White” to cheer her up?   There were bluebirds on birthday cards and in coloring books…  The problem was that I had never seen a real live bluebird.  My grandma and my teacher assured me they were real.  My mother told me they were different from the blue jays that were common in our area.  In my young mind, that made the bluebird something very special and elusive…  somewhat like a unicorn.

Fast forward many years, and I came to a dark period of my life.   And that dark period included a week that  was darkest of all.  I was exhausted from sewing the dresses for a large wedding party.  My father was pronounced terminal, comfort care only to be given. I was chasing preschoolers and driving teenagers here, there, and everywhere.  And watching dreams die for one of my children.

In the midst of all this, I was in my living room having a very real heart to heart talk with God.  I had just read a verse in Psalms that said “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”.  I so wanted to believe that verse, but the darkness around me just made it seem totally impossible.  In the midst of all this, I simply told God that I really, really needed to know if that was true for me, if I could hold onto that verse, and if He was actually listening to all of this heartbreak being poured out.

I no more than said this, when a real bluebird landed at the very top of a tiny twig of a tree in the center of our front yard.  It seemed to defy gravity sitting there.  And to top it off, a sunbeam illuminated him, as if he were on display.  And he was.  He was there for me to see that God was hearing, and that He cared.

I was so elated.  And so excited.  A couple of hours later when my husband got home from work, I met him at the door with car keys in hand, and asked if he would put up a bluebird house if I went and got one.  Being the great guy that he is, he said yes, but questioned if we would ever have one come around to live in it.  I told him what had happened, and off I went to buy a bluebird house.  Within a couple of days, it was occupied, and most summers since we have had bluebirds living in our houses.  I have also accumulated quite a few bluebirds for inside our house, most of them gifts.  And every one of them reminds me that God is listening to my pleas.  And He CARES!

My “Bluebird of Hope” had to be the first kit in my new business.  I hope you begin to be reminded of hope when you see bluebirds from now on!!!