It was a simple necklace I designed and had made – lots of them! The ops manager of the company helped me make a contact in China to have the necklace made and I received the shipment of 500 necklaces and the irony of it was the manufacturer could not assure me they did not contain lead. Oh dear! How could I in good conscience sell this incredibly important piece of jewelry? I bought a lead testing kit and it actually proved each necklace only contained less than 1% lead. But how would you market that?
For sale: lovely, PRO-LIFE necklaces for sale. Silver-plated with a minute amount of lead. Great deal!
I had a conundrum on my hands. Everyone in the office knew about the necklace and I gave them away in numbers. I blessed our pregnancy care center and several other pro-life organizations. The jewelry, designed as a healing tool for women who suffered miscarriage and those women who were in post-abortion recovery, was doing what it was intended to do: aid in the healing process.
One day as I sat at my desk, a shy member of our work team approached me, “Do you have any necklaces left?”
“I certainly do – would you like one?”
I handed her the box and she immediately opened it, brailing the baby in the smooth, metal “O”.
“Thank you. You see, I had an abortion several years ago and wearing this will remind me that I am forgiven and loved by God and one day I will see my baby again,” she explained with tears in her eyes.
I stood up and gave her a great big hug and thanked her for sharing her story with me.
Dreams are different for different people, through my jewelry design I wanted women to be given a symbol of hope. A sure Hope they would see their babies again through salvation in the one true Hope-Giver, Jesus Christ. That day we both had a dream fulfilled, all because of a small, silver-plated, piece of inexpensive jewelry, right there in the middle of a busy workday.
(I have since found a jeweler here in the U.S. and now offer the necklace in Sterling Silver – 0% lead!!!)
Linking up with The High Calling’s Share Your Story.
Linking up with The High Calling.
This was beautiful! So are the necklaces. Blessings to you, I was your neighbor at The High Calling.
Nannette, how blessed to have you visit. Thank you!
What could have been a bit of a nightmare turned into a true blessing, yes? What a beautiful necklace design. (So glad you found a lead-free jeweler!)
Thanks so much for sharing your story with us at TheHighCalling.org.
Thank YOU, Jennifer,for the opportunity!
Of course I love this! And the necklace….
Yes, I thought you would.