Many decades ago a little girl told a newspaper editor in a letter to his paper that her friends were telling her there was no Santa Claus. He responded with an editorial called, Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus, that has endured the test of time as one of the most heartfelt explanations of the true meaning of giving that St. Nick represents. Last Sunday, Madison attended church with her grandfather and me, and she had the honour of lighting the fourth advent candle at the front of the church with the Dean (Christ Church Cathedral). In his sermon, he also talked about her dancing to the lively hymns. It was nice together time, but during the Prayers for the People, Madison asked an "Is there really a Santa Claus" kind of question.
As the prayer leader read out the names of the people in the congregation for whom we would pray, Madie turns to me and whispers, "Grammie, do dogs matter?"
My heart, still raw from the loss of my Brodie, was touched by her caring question. "Yes," I replied, and hugged her, "they matter very much."
"Then why didn't they say Brodie's name?" she asked.
"When the list is read, they will ask us to name others for whom we want to pray either out loud or to ourselves," I replied.
When the question came, Madie and said his name softly together.
My five-year-old granddaughter was helping to heal my heart in that moment, though she didn't know it at the time.
Brodie's ashes come home tomorrow and I will put them in a special spot where they will continue to matter... because he did!
Thank you Madie!
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4 comments:
I love the pure innocense of children!!! My heart goes out to you and your family.
Madie's a little blessing, thanks for sharing this special moment with her. She understands more than she realises I think, just by intuition. What a kid!
Wow...quite a kid.
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