Today at mass I was reminded of the people who have sown seeds in my life. My Aunt Karen, on my Dad's side, who I remember giving me my first Bible, watching her as she and her friends had Bible studies at my Nannie's house, listening to Christian music in her car, and her taking me to VBS in the summer. My best friend from high school inviting me to church. Me going to youth group and church with her my Junior and Senior years of high school. Going to Christmas Eve service with my Nannie every so often. Talking about how to pray with one of my FFA advisors when I was in high school. My student that led me to my baptism and the most beautiful faith on the planet.
The past couple of times I have seen the kids, Brynley has asked me questions about my rosary. I would answer her questions, let her look at it, and hold my rosary. She then asked me, "Will you make me one?". And if you know me at all, I was super excited that she asked me!
After acquiring some multi-colored "kid" string from a friend, making her rosary and praying with her rosary, it was time to give Bryn her rosary. I had originally written a letter to her because she reads a ton and I thought she'd like getting a letter from me. However, I forgot the letter at home. But it turns out I didn't need the letter. I was taking Bryn back to Ark City with me to my spend the weekend with my Mom and thought we just make a quick pit stop at St. Francis..... and Hobby Lobby. My sister Kami, already knew I made her a rosary and thought it was fine to stop in at the church.
On the way to St. Francis, she asked me two questions: "Have you made my bracelet thingee yet? And what do we have to do at the church?" :)
Brynley ate it up. It was so much better than the time I took her to mass. I can't describe how it felt to kneel right beside her. Then we sat back and talked. We talked about Jesus in the tabernacle. "How does Jesus fit in such a small box?!" She asked me if she had to close her eyes to pray. We talked about how praying was just talking to God. We talked about how we should thank Jesus for good things in our life, how we should tell Him that we love Him, and that if we were worried about things we could tell Him about that too.
Then I surprised her with her rosary and my Guardian Angel prayer card. I told her the rosary I made for her was more than just a bracelet. That when she saw it that it could remind her to talk to God. And then I told her she had a guardian angel and that I didn't find out I had a guardian angel until I was 27. She laughed when I told her how excited I was to find out I had an angel that protected me and went with me everywhere. I explained how there was a prayer we could say to our guardian angel and that I had just learned this prayer a couple weeks ago. By the way, teaching her the Guardian Angel prayer was not my idea, but a friends, and she loved asking me questions about her angel. Is my angel a boy or a girl? Can I talk to her? What does she look like? How tall is she? Will she help me when I get scared down in the dark basement? Not to mention, she memorized that prayer in 10-15 minutes max on the way to Grandmas house. People, she memorized that sucker faster than me!
The point of taking Brynley to the church, praying with her, and giving her a rosary was NOT to convert her to Catholicism. Even though she did want to learn how to do the sign of the cross with holy water. :) It was simply to plant a seed. She may grow up thinking of me as her overly religious aunt, like I did my Aunt Karen. However, it blows my mind to see how close a little child is to God already. They KNOW Him. This was very apparent to me today. I know she'll grow older and lose that innocence. I just hope that someday she falls in love with Jesus. God is unbelievably great!
