Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Craft (as in handcraft) (02/08/07)
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TITLE: Child of God | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kathie Thomas
02/14/07 -
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“It's ‘show and tell' this week, mummy, and it's about ‘craft'. What am I going to do? I'm not good at anything! The kids are going to laugh at me”.
I sighed. We'd been down this path before and I needed my daughter to understand that she didn't have to be like everyone else. That she is who she is, a child of God.
I asked her about the collage she had made recently and she screwed up her face. Then I suggested the placemat she had made for her dad and she shrugged her shoulders. “Then, what about that lovely bead necklace you made for me? I really love that!”
“Really?” she asked, her interest mildly peaking. “I don't know mum….” as her voice trailed off.
“You can tell the class that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and that your mother really loves that necklace, because it was made with love and has special significance for me.”
I watched my daughter's face as different emotions flickered across it. I didn't like reminding her of a time that was fraught with sadness, but at the same time it was important for her to remember that through God's grace and healing, she still had her mother with her. I felt a lump forming in my throat and was grateful that time was now well past and we had a future to look forward to.
I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, cupped her chin with my other hand and smiled into her eyes. “Darling, don't ever forget that you don't have to be good at everything. But God has given you gifts that will awaken and grow inside as you grow older, and He has special gifts for you. Some children will be good at things like art and craft, but you have a special gift that shows His love to others around you. When others are down you know how to pick them up with the way you do things for them, and show them that you care. That bead necklace you made me has so much love in it, that I feel the warmth whenever I wear it. It is a very special gift you gave to me”.
My daughter smiled up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. “Ok, mummy, I'll take your necklace and use that for ‘show and tell'.
The following day I held my breath as the door opened and I heard my daughter calling out to me. I let my breath back out again as I heard her voice call out in a sing-song fashion, and the sounds of her skipping down the hallway. She'd had a good day and I silently thanked God for His goodness to her.
“Mum, mum, they didn't laugh at me, they didn't laugh! Some of the girls wanted to come and have a close look at the necklace and told me how glad they were that you are well and that I still have you. The teacher said it was really special too. And there were others who didn't have anything they could show so I told them things about them that were special, just like you told me last night. And you know what mummy? I told them that they are a child of God, just like me!”
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I'm not sure why the dialog is in italics--usually italics is reseved for thoughts, or for emphasis. A teesny bit distracting.
I love the mother-daughter relationship portrayed here.