Thrown Away – Part 1 and 2

Amanda playing in the laundry basket with
her sister, Samantha, and stuffed toys

A few years back, my kids were given a gift of brand new books. One of the books was called, Throwaway Bear by Sandy Nightingale. As the title suggests, a little bear gets thrown away. He doesn’t get thrown away because he’s old and thread-bare. In fact, he’s brand new, but he’s unwanted by the girl who receives him.

The little teddy has one traumatic experience after the next. Being stuffed in the trash is only the beginning of his troubles. Just when you think things can’t get worse, little teddy gets rescued and “adopted” by a young boy.

I’ve heard of desperate mothers throwing their babies away. Hearing is one thing, but actually seeing a photo of a flesh-and-blood newborn in the garbage is another thing entirely. Recently I saw such a photo on Facebook. A photo speaks louder than words.

There is a house of safety in our town for moms with children escaping from abusive homes. Often they have no time to pack or plan, but leave in haste as they fear for their lives and for the lives of their children. Soon after receiving the gift of brand new books, I heard of a mom with a young daughter and baby in such a plight.

While I was putting together a gift bag of essentials for this family, I thought about this mother’s daughter and how she had escaped an abusive father and then I thought of the book, Throwaway Bear by Sandy Nightingale. I decided if anyone could relate to the story of an unwanted and mistreated teddy bear, then she could. I packed the new book into the bag along with the other items and prayed that this book would help the girl through the process of emotional healing.

I think this book would make a wonderful Christmas present for children. It can open up meaningful discussions between parent or teacher and child.

The views expressed here are entirely my own and I am not receiving any pay or gift for having posted this.

God has blessed you and me so that we can be a blessing to others.

Another post you might like to read from this blog is, “Broken, but Precious.”