It is the beginning of 2019 and by now most of us have heard of or been inspired by Marie Kondo’s “life changing magic of tidying up”. It’s a new year, post Christmas, pre spring cleaning kinda time in homes across the country and we’ve adapted a new appreciation for MINIMALISM. I want to urge you to hold those giant trash bags and boxes and read this before you head to the dump or goodwill dropoff; because your “tidying up” may be life changing to someone besides yourself…

In my local community there is a thrift shop that donates its profits to the local pregnancy care center called “options now”. There are pregnancy centers all over the country like this and a short google search will connect you to the closest one. Many take donations; some just accept baby and maternity items to help a new mom while others take EVERYTHING. If you don’t have a pregnancy care ministry nearby that accepts household donations, they may benefit from a monetary contribution. In that case you could have a garage sale and make a contribution. Finally, donating to the Salvation Army is another great cause as they help people around the world.

Pregnancy care centers actually do save lives. Their mission is to offer basic care to women who may be pregnant (the services may vary place to place) such as pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and counseling. They educate women on ALL of their options and help them with the first steps (maybe beyond). Many women who have chosen to get pregnancy tests in these centers considered abortion but now are happily raising their babies OR they’ve blessed another family with an adoption and reduced the emotional trauma (an often overlooked and unspoken side effect). Since later abortions do not exempt women from giving birth, adoption is a powerfully impactful option that is promoted in these centers. Solutions are offered for women in complicated situations. This service to the community works:

When I saw this sign outside the donation area of my local pregnancy care ministry, I couldn’t feel better about giving them my gently used stuff. Yes, purging and tidying up is pretty nice in my home; but making my things affordable to someone who needs them AND contributing to life saving ministry makes it all the more worthwhile. I think I’ll go through my closet now and let go of more things that don’t “spark joy” because I will feel the greatest joy imagining where those 224 rose babies are thriving in a forever home with a family who needed them.

So thank you to all of these ministries who do this. Now, more than ever, I hope my words shine a light on you so that your impact can grow. Bless you!

Please share this post with your thoughts on social media so that this idea can inspire others to make an impact with something they may be doing anyway. Thank you.