Have you ever noticed how the most ordinary things can suddenly bring back a memory?

It’s never the things you expect.

Sometimes it’s the smell of something baking in the oven. Sometimes it’s hearing a song you haven’t heard for years. Sometimes it’s finding an old photograph tucked inside a book.

This week, for me, it was a handbag.

I was putting a few things away when I picked up my late mom’s handbag, and before I knew it, my mind had wandered back to one of my old handbags.

One I carried for years when my children were little.

Now, that handbag and I went everywhere together.

It wasn’t fancy. It certainly wasn’t light. Looking back, I’m not even sure “handbag” is the right word. It was more like a small cupboard with a shoulder strap.

If one of my children fell over, I had a little first aid pouch ready to go. If a button decided to fall off at the most inconvenient moment, there was a tiny sewing kit tucked away somewhere. There were tissues, pens, snacks, hair ties, and enough little treasures hiding at the bottom. Every now and then I’d empty the whole handbag and find things I’d completely forgotten were even in there.

I still smile when I think about that sewing kit.

I honestly can’t remember ever stitching a button back on while I was out, yet apparently I believed it was a possibility I needed to prepare for.

Isn’t that just life sometimes?

We quietly collect things because they make sense for the season we’re in.

And that handbag made perfect sense.

Those were busy years. Happy years. Full years. My days revolved around my little darlings, and I loved caring for them. Looking back now, I don’t see an oversized handbag.

I see love.

I see a mum doing her best.

I see a season that was precious, even on the days it felt exhausting.

Years later, after we moved to the seaside, I started noticing something that made me smile.

The women around me all seemed to have these lovely little handbags. Some didn’t carry one at all.

Meanwhile, I was still walking around with my faithful bag of treasures, as though I might be called upon to deal with every possible emergency before lunchtime.

One afternoon I tipped everything out onto the kitchen counter. There wasn’t a grand reason for it. I think I was simply curious.

As I looked at everything spread out in front of me, I found myself asking,

“Do I still need all of this?”

The answer was…

Not really. So I packed my purse, my sunglasses, my phone and a lip balm.

That was enough.

The funny thing is, nothing changed.

Life carried on exactly as it always had.

Nobody urgently needed my sewing kit.

No one asked if I happened to have spare plasters.

The world didn’t become more difficult because my handbag became smaller.

I just walked a little lighter.

I’ve thought about that old handbag several times since then.

Not because I miss carrying it. And certainly not because I think there’s a right or wrong size handbag.

If yours is full of snacks, crayons, tissues or toys because that’s the season you’re in, then carry it with joy. Those seasons are gifts, even if they leave us a little tired by the end of the day.

No, it was something else that stayed with me.

As I stood there thinking about that younger version of myself, I realised I felt incredibly thankful for her.

She loved deeply.

She cared well.

She showed up every day,

even when she was probably more tired than she admitted.

I wouldn’t go back and change her.

I’d simply sit beside her with a cup of tea and remind her that she was doing better than she thought.

Then another thought quietly settled into my heart.

How often do we carry old versions of ourselves into new seasons?

Not because we’re doing anything wrong. Simply because life changes so gradually that we hardly notice we’ve changed too. I wonder if you’ve ever felt that.

One day you’re the mom with little ones running around your feet.

Another day they’re growing into teenagers or young adults.

One day the house is wonderfully noisy.

Then, somehow, it’s quiet.

One season asks something of us that the next one doesn’t.

And somewhere in the middle of all those changing seasons, it’s easy to forget that while our roles may change, our identity never does.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. We often describe ourselves by what we do.

“I’m a mom.”

“I’m retired.”

“I’m caring for my parents.”

“I’m working.”

“I’m studying.”

The list goes on, but you can stop and think about when someone asks you “who you are?” What is the first thought that comes to mind?

Those things all matter.

They’re beautiful parts of our story.

But they’re not the whole story.

Before any of those titles were ever part of our lives, there was another one God had already spoken over us.

His child.

There’s something wonderfully peaceful about that.

John writes,

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.”

1 John 3:1

I love that little sentence.

“That is what we are.”

Not what we used to be.

Not what we hope to become.

Not what we’re trying so hard to prove.

Just… His.

And because that never changes, we don’t have to fear the seasons changing either.

There’s another verse I’ve always found comforting.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8

Isn’t that reassuring?

Life changes. Families grow. Dreams change. We change.

But Jesus doesn’t.

Perhaps that’s why He can walk so faithfully with us through every season. He isn’t surprised when life looks different. He’s already there, waiting to meet us in it.

Maybe that’s what the old handbag reminded me of after all.

Not that I carried too much.

Not that I should have packed less.

Simply that every season has shaped me, and God has been faithfully present in every single one.

Even the ones I didn’t fully appreciate at the time.

Before I finish, can I leave you with one small thought?

The next time you pick up your handbag, or your keys, before heading out the door, pause for just a moment.

Take one slow breath. Thank God for the season you’re in today.

You don’t have to compare it with the one that’s gone, and you don’t have to rush towards the next one either.

Just be here.

Then quietly remind yourself of this beautiful truth: You belong to Jesus.

Some days, that’s all our hearts need to hear. And I have a feeling that’s something worth carrying with us, whatever handbag happens to be over our shoulder.

Until next time, may you find joy in the ordinary, peace in the present, and confidence in knowing you have always been, and will always be, His.

With Love,

MC Bloom