Monday, June 7, 2010

Telling Her the Truth


I still remember the spring she pointed outside and cried out with anguish and tears in her eyes, “Mommy, look!!!!”

I peered out our dining room window expecting to see the gorgeous pink azaleas we’d been admiring for a few weeks, every breakfast and lunch we’d comment on their beauty, my 3 year old girl and I.


But that morning brought an unhappy surprise,
they were no longer pink, bright, glorious flowers,

but brown, wilted, and drooping!


I knew they would die but hadn’t given it much thought.

I didn’t anticipate my daughter’s emotional reaction.


In hindsight, I should have, she has a sweet, sensitive nature.

I should have warned her, prepared her somehow.


I wished for a world where the flowers were always blooming and beautiful
.

A world for my daughter where there was no loss,

No pain,

No death
,

No ugliness
.

But it is not to be
.

Because my little girl lives on earth right now,


In a fallen world.

And so I took a deep breath


And told her the truth.


Flowers die
.

This will happen every year.

And we are sad to see them go

but thankful for the time we had to enjoy them.

And, “Look!” I exclaimed happily to her as I pointed out the back window,


“While those flowers were dying in the front yard, new, different flowers were blooming in the backyard!”



13 comments:

  1. Enjoyed your post today.

    Blessings,
    Linda J

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  2. funny how little ones really see it all... but what a gift to be able to take the time to think it through and explain God's beauty to her

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  3. I remember having a very similar conversation with my 3 year old son. He asked, "But why would God only give us flowers some of the time?" I explained that flowers have to work really hard to give us something that beautiful...so when it dies it just means they're working hard to give us flowers for next year." He seemed to get it but, man! the questions our kiddos ask are not easy! ;-)

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  4. My daughter picked one of my mom's flowers the other day for me. I didn't have the heart to tell her she really shouldn't pick grandma's flowers. This is a beautiful post.

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  5. Such a tender heart. What a beautiful post.

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  6. These sweet babies we have...what blessings!

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  7. Beautiful story! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Oh..if we could only sheild them from pain. But through pain..comes refining!!

    Beautiful post!

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  9. Sweet, sensitive little ones. They keep us close to innocence.

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  10. So sweet. So true. A lesson she will likely cherish for years to come.

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  11. How true - if we only remember to look out the back window! *Blessings* Lib

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  12. So beautiful! We only have to look around to see God's beauty. Love your daughter's innocence!

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