As I sat with Ryan and Sophia in the back pew, trying to convince our little chatterbox to keep the talking to a minimum during the Our Father, it became overwhelmingly clear to me. The bond Sophia and I share as mother and daughter is sacred. All the qualities I have felt slipping through my grasp: happy innocence, awe, and wonder radiate from her. Sophia's open heart and mind enlighten my perspective.
I'm happy to report my little princesa has learned a few of her lovable mannerisms from me: the way she embraces me by hooking her little arm all the way around my neck, the way she puckers and smacks her lips to give kisses, how she opens her eyes wide to play with her expressions and responses,how she caresses my face, and the way she constantly tells me, "I you". (which translates, "I love you.")
Yet, Sophia Maria's many other beautiful qualities come from deep within her. She did not acquire them from her experiences in this world; they are all her own. There is a light that resonates from within her. Sophia's determination and sunny smile extend to a far greater radius than her mother's could. When those who know her have been away for even just a day, they ache to see Sophia's kissable cheeks and hear her precious voice. I have witnessed her spirited ways rejuvenate even the most stubborn of souls.
My recent understanding of the depth of her inner beauty and how it connects me to everything good in this world made what happened on Good Friday, in that same House of God, even more crushing than it might have been. Again, we were seated in the back-most pew. We are well aware that our often shy darling becomes extremely chatty and social in church. Ryan and I had been really adamant lately about making Sophia "use her words" to relay what she wanted. She was simply doing what we'd been asking of her, when her words were shushed.
A bitter, wounded, middle-aged man was attempting to shush the exuberance right out of Sophia. His first shushing took both Ryan and I by surprise. We looked at one another in disbelief. We didn't think Sophia was being unreasonably disruptive for a 1 1/2 year old. Granted, since Mass started at 7 pm, we were now dealing with the slightly delirious, rather tired Sophia. Even so, I could not believe the audacity of that man and his hisses, telling us to keep quiet. After he had shushed us twice more, Ryan and I grew quietly furious.
This man, this world, cannot be allowed to silence our daughter's joy of life. We mustn't let it. This is not the Lord's will. For this little girl offers those who love her a glimpse of the paradise to come.
2 comments:
My sons, over the years have added to religious ceremonies with shouts, cries, screams and outbursts of every sort. I always felt that they were just getting the Lord's attention! And the people who it bothered, were not really talking to the same God that I was. I've always prayed to the one who proclaimed "Let the little children come to me!" Obviously Sophia prays to the same God that I do!
What an adorable little girl she is!
Marcia
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