A Thankful Little Girl Now Grown
The season for giving thanks has me meandering the back roads of my life. While always thankful, I have been spending a lot of time being thankful on a much deeper level than in seasons past. I hope and pray that this habit not only continues but goes deeper still.
As I mosey along on these mental back road journeys, warm patches of memories dot the path like dapples of sunshine shining through the trees. Often they hit with an unexpected intensity that surprises me. It is as if they have been waiting, longing to burst free from the prison of my memory, to be shared.
I almost feel as if I should begin with “Once upon a time…” so I willJ Once upon a time, there was a little girl. This little girl had a beautiful, young aunt, and this beautiful, young aunt had a tall, dark, and handsome boyfriend. This tall, dark, and handsome young man would come home from college with the aunt for family visits. Oh how the little girl loved these visits! She loved her aunt dearly, but the little girl secretly anticipated the coming of the tall, dark boyfriend most.
However, it wasn’t the young man’s looks that the little girl admired. It was his words. The young man affirmed the little girl with his words. It was he who had declared that her middle name of Jean wasn’t Jean but June Bug. From then on, she was so and so June Bug. And it was he who would seem excited to hear her show off her newest skill, reading. A young man, fresh out of college, care about his girlfriend’s niece reading? But he did, or at least faked it really well. The little girl believed it pleased him; so for his approval she pressed on. A first grader spell “encyclopedia or gymnasium”? With her future uncle’s help the little girl did. She couldn’t wait for the next holiday to show him!
The years went on, the shy little girl grew up not knowing how to express her thanks. How does someone say thank you for being called June Bug without seeming weird and silly? How does someone afraid to talk, to say the wrong thing, say anything? They don’t, and the years go by, silently.
Many years have gone silently by. The little girl is a woman grown with little girls of her own. Some of her own little girls are now almost grown too. They, like their mother, love the rare treat a visit with the uncle provides. How the entire family adores him! His affirming, sometimes loud, attention warms their hearts. What an amazing gift this man has for noticing and loving children, for breaking through shy reserve and living open and full! How the grown little girl, her husband, and children thank God for an aunt’s boyfriend turned uncle. Only God could have given such a gift of love!
Memories, rich and full wash over like a flood as I journey through thankfulness. How is it I have kept them prisoner so long? They are begging to be released, to be shared, shouted loud. An official day titled Thanksgiving is now yesterday, but thankfulness is a journey happening still. Thank you God, for the uncle who made me a June Bug. Please show him Your love and bless Him real big, for me.
As I mosey along on these mental back road journeys, warm patches of memories dot the path like dapples of sunshine shining through the trees. Often they hit with an unexpected intensity that surprises me. It is as if they have been waiting, longing to burst free from the prison of my memory, to be shared.
I almost feel as if I should begin with “Once upon a time…” so I willJ Once upon a time, there was a little girl. This little girl had a beautiful, young aunt, and this beautiful, young aunt had a tall, dark, and handsome boyfriend. This tall, dark, and handsome young man would come home from college with the aunt for family visits. Oh how the little girl loved these visits! She loved her aunt dearly, but the little girl secretly anticipated the coming of the tall, dark boyfriend most.
However, it wasn’t the young man’s looks that the little girl admired. It was his words. The young man affirmed the little girl with his words. It was he who had declared that her middle name of Jean wasn’t Jean but June Bug. From then on, she was so and so June Bug. And it was he who would seem excited to hear her show off her newest skill, reading. A young man, fresh out of college, care about his girlfriend’s niece reading? But he did, or at least faked it really well. The little girl believed it pleased him; so for his approval she pressed on. A first grader spell “encyclopedia or gymnasium”? With her future uncle’s help the little girl did. She couldn’t wait for the next holiday to show him!
The years went on, the shy little girl grew up not knowing how to express her thanks. How does someone say thank you for being called June Bug without seeming weird and silly? How does someone afraid to talk, to say the wrong thing, say anything? They don’t, and the years go by, silently.
Many years have gone silently by. The little girl is a woman grown with little girls of her own. Some of her own little girls are now almost grown too. They, like their mother, love the rare treat a visit with the uncle provides. How the entire family adores him! His affirming, sometimes loud, attention warms their hearts. What an amazing gift this man has for noticing and loving children, for breaking through shy reserve and living open and full! How the grown little girl, her husband, and children thank God for an aunt’s boyfriend turned uncle. Only God could have given such a gift of love!
Memories, rich and full wash over like a flood as I journey through thankfulness. How is it I have kept them prisoner so long? They are begging to be released, to be shared, shouted loud. An official day titled Thanksgiving is now yesterday, but thankfulness is a journey happening still. Thank you God, for the uncle who made me a June Bug. Please show him Your love and bless Him real big, for me.