With so many dismal news breaks and frightening headlines, perhaps we need a glimmer of hope, a moment of fun. This thought leads me to tell you about our great-granddaughter, Daisy, who will turn four by the end of May. The two of us like to go on adventures together.
Two days ago, Daisy suddenly climbed off my walker where she sits on our adventures and announced. “I see a worm. I need to help him” Scrambling down from the walker, she continued. “The sidewalk is no place for a worm.” Gently carrying the small wiggling creature, I heard her softly telling him, “Don’t worry little fellow. I’m going to take care of you.” She searched until she found the perfect location in the grass for her new friend.
Yesterday, the two of us took her small umbrella and set out to find deer and baby rabbits. The fact that deer, rabbits, and squirrels hid in the forest and bushes did not disappoint Daisy. In the process of looking, she picked up a roly-poly. Once again, she seemed captivated by a small speck of nature. Her bug made important headlines in her heart as she talked to him and explained important aspects of our journey.
It struck me that, to most of us, worms and roly-polies might be deemed unimportant. Occasionally, we even consider some members of humanity to be inferior. Not to our little great-granddaughter. Each one holds value and interest. To Daisy, each one becomes a friend wanting to be met.
Her wisdom amazes me. On an earlier venture, Daisy noticed that a storm had torn many small limbs from the trees. Some leaves had already turned brown. Other fallen branches held leaves with mixtures of green turning brown. She asked, “Why does that leaf look brown, Bisa (short for Bisabuela)? She felt no upset when I replied, “The brown color means the leaf died. It can now crumble and become food for other plants. The ones with a combination of green and brown show us that they will soon die.” Nothing upsetting here — just nature doing its thing.
Two days later at a lunch of green beans, green peas, corn, and fish, Daisy calmly said, “Bisa, you seem to be getting old. You will die someday. Right?” “Absolutely correct,” came my reply as her uncle’s jaw dropped.
Nature at work might be considered harsh. It might also be viewed as a beautiful reality of the life process. Putting a value on “the least of these” seems nothing short of sacred. I give thanks for this precious child with her truth and wisdom.
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