Isn't she beautiful? Of course, the frosting on her mouth reminds me that she loves to party!! She also has an inner spiritual beauty that has been present since she was a toddler, no kidding!
This child of God has been inquisitive since before she could put two words together, she leaves no stone unturned in her pursuit of truth and her love for life and people is inspiring - at least to her mom!
In looking back at the last 7 years, it amazes me all the things that a child has taught me. I could not even begin to list them here. I've known for a long time that God has claimed this one for His own. From her insistance upon knowing what a broken spirit is at the age of two to her passion for AIDS children in Africa, He has grabbed hold of her heart and He hasn't let go.
I can remember at the age of 3, when she was persistant about being allowed to go on the merry-go-round at the mall by herself. Against my better judgement but 8 months pregnant, I agreed to let her go, but only if she went on the spinner, not the horse. She was thrilled and ran right over to that spinner. I'll never forget my mixture of amazement and fear as she came running up to us after the ride with pure intensity written in her expression. She exclaimed, "That little boy on the ride with me- he had not EVER heard about Jesus. I had to tell him ALL about Him!!" And thus began her life as a missionary.
I love Kt's passion for people, her caring heart, her compassion for anyone in need, her desire to bring everyone along with her to heaven. One day, early in her kindergarten year, she went off to the school bus complete with many, many letters. There was one in her bag for every person that she knew, including her bus driver, Mr. Gary. He called me over to the bus the next day because I think he was a little worried that maybe I didn't know that my daughter had written him this "love letter," but I assured him that every person in her life at that time had gotten one. Even the bus driver! They were all straight from her heart.
Probably the most surprising thing to me about raising this particular child is her spiritual awareness. When Kt was very young, I purchased Hide 'Em In Your Heart tapes by Steve Green. We listened to them in the car, everywhere we went. There was one song, in particular, A Joyful Heart is good medicine. One part of the song goes, "But a broken spirit dries up the bones." For months, she insisted on a good definition, one that was understandable to a 2 year old, as to what a broken spirit was, because she was quite certain she NEVER wanted one. When my father died, she never once questioned the spiritual aspect of death. All those months of teacher her about spirituality at an age when I doubted her understanding of such an abstract idea all came to fruition. To watch God prepare a toddler for such a great loss - it's just amazing.
This past year has been one of extreme growth for Kt, in so many ways. It has been a pleasure and joy to watch, but also bittersweet. She's not my little toddler anymore, far from it! All of her good (and bad!) character traits have grown, matured a bit into a fresh understanding of herself in the world. She announced to me a couple months ago that she had dedicated her life to Christ in a Sunday School class. She does this often and I always try to make sure she understands that once is enough, but rededication is OK. She said to me, "Well, this time it was different. I felt like they explained some things to me today that really made me understand even more what Christ did for me. I think this time I really know." I think, this time it's about Christ and not about heaven. I think she does know, and I hope and pray that as the years go on, she'll continue to learn more, know more and grow more.
Happy Birthday, oh little light of mine.
Her Big Cheese Book from second grade, she shared these facts about herself with her class:
My name is Kt. I have one sister. My favorite holiday is Christmas. My favorite color is rainbow.
This child of God has been inquisitive since before she could put two words together, she leaves no stone unturned in her pursuit of truth and her love for life and people is inspiring - at least to her mom!
In looking back at the last 7 years, it amazes me all the things that a child has taught me. I could not even begin to list them here. I've known for a long time that God has claimed this one for His own. From her insistance upon knowing what a broken spirit is at the age of two to her passion for AIDS children in Africa, He has grabbed hold of her heart and He hasn't let go.
I can remember at the age of 3, when she was persistant about being allowed to go on the merry-go-round at the mall by herself. Against my better judgement but 8 months pregnant, I agreed to let her go, but only if she went on the spinner, not the horse. She was thrilled and ran right over to that spinner. I'll never forget my mixture of amazement and fear as she came running up to us after the ride with pure intensity written in her expression. She exclaimed, "That little boy on the ride with me- he had not EVER heard about Jesus. I had to tell him ALL about Him!!" And thus began her life as a missionary.
I love Kt's passion for people, her caring heart, her compassion for anyone in need, her desire to bring everyone along with her to heaven. One day, early in her kindergarten year, she went off to the school bus complete with many, many letters. There was one in her bag for every person that she knew, including her bus driver, Mr. Gary. He called me over to the bus the next day because I think he was a little worried that maybe I didn't know that my daughter had written him this "love letter," but I assured him that every person in her life at that time had gotten one. Even the bus driver! They were all straight from her heart.
Probably the most surprising thing to me about raising this particular child is her spiritual awareness. When Kt was very young, I purchased Hide 'Em In Your Heart tapes by Steve Green. We listened to them in the car, everywhere we went. There was one song, in particular, A Joyful Heart is good medicine. One part of the song goes, "But a broken spirit dries up the bones." For months, she insisted on a good definition, one that was understandable to a 2 year old, as to what a broken spirit was, because she was quite certain she NEVER wanted one. When my father died, she never once questioned the spiritual aspect of death. All those months of teacher her about spirituality at an age when I doubted her understanding of such an abstract idea all came to fruition. To watch God prepare a toddler for such a great loss - it's just amazing.
This past year has been one of extreme growth for Kt, in so many ways. It has been a pleasure and joy to watch, but also bittersweet. She's not my little toddler anymore, far from it! All of her good (and bad!) character traits have grown, matured a bit into a fresh understanding of herself in the world. She announced to me a couple months ago that she had dedicated her life to Christ in a Sunday School class. She does this often and I always try to make sure she understands that once is enough, but rededication is OK. She said to me, "Well, this time it was different. I felt like they explained some things to me today that really made me understand even more what Christ did for me. I think this time I really know." I think, this time it's about Christ and not about heaven. I think she does know, and I hope and pray that as the years go on, she'll continue to learn more, know more and grow more.
Happy Birthday, oh little light of mine.
Her Big Cheese Book from second grade, she shared these facts about herself with her class:
My name is Kt. I have one sister. My favorite holiday is Christmas. My favorite color is rainbow.
1 comment:
She's a VERY special girl!!!
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