Upstairs in my little storeroom, I have an old cardboard box. It is no longer square, and the bottom is slightly bowed. The edges are frayed. The outside of the box has been covered with wallpaper - white with small blue flowers and green stems and leaves. I have seen that box for years, never giving it a second thought.

Since Mama has gone on to be with Jesus, we have been going through her things. For the first time, I have heard the story of that box, and it fills me up inside!

My sister says she remembers when Mama covered that box. Blue was always her favorite color. Mama was expecting me or my younger sister, and covered that box with wallpaper to prepare it for the new baby's clothes and diapers.

That old box says so many things about Mama! She was looking forward to her new baby. She and Daddy may not have had a lot of money, but Mama did what she could to make our home nice. There may have already been other children in our home, but she was making room for one more. And there was room, too, in her heart.

photo: Mama and Daddy in front of the big old farm house we lived in when I was very young.