This week we lost two amazing women in our lives. The first was the mother of a dear friend of ours. She was a mom, a teacher, and a volunteer with a huge heart. She had battled for many years with illness and fought hard. She fought hard enough to see her children get married and meet 7 grandchildren, but it got the best of her last week.
The second was my cousin Jim's wife, Jan. She was a glass-ceiling-breaker: a brave firefighter, a Captain, who traveled the country teaching and inspiring others. She and Jim lived an amazing life that others only dream of: adventurous vacations, baseball games, and true love. Jan bravely fought cancer and sadly, left this world only yesterday.
On Wednesday the services for the first will be held. I had planned to join Layla's class for a trip to the Field Museum, and I thought she would be disappointed, maybe even make a fuss. I told her I was going to church to celebrate Mary's mom because she went to Heaven to be with Jesus. I told her that her friends lost their Grandma and they were very sad.
She looked at me and just said, "That's okay mom, you should go to church." And then, "Mom, where is your Grandma?". I told her that I had two Grandmas, but they were both in Heaven with Jesus already. She gave me a big smile, like she knew a secret. "That's okay mom, because we can't go to Heaven, heaven is right here (pointing to her heart) inside your heart. You don't have to be sad because they're always with you."
"Mom, put your hand here (hand on her heart), do you hear that thump, thump? That's Jesus walking around telling everyone about God."
Such a simple message from such a sweet little girl.
I lost touch with my faith as a teenager and it took me a long time to get it back. Layla has more faith than I ever will. She just believes with her whole heart she is loved and watched over by God. She does not fear death. While I know she does not fully comprehend it, but she has enough faith to accept what's happening and enough faith in God to be happy for that person (that they will get to go to Heaven), even while we are sad they aren't here with us.
2 comments:
What incredible parent's Layla has to have that much faith so young! I'll definitely be sharing this with Jim.
Thanks Jill, A lot of the credit is owed to her preschool teacher. Layla has grown and learned so much from her.
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