Tonight, as I put my grandchildren into bed, they asked for a story. I may have a million of them, but there was one that was on my heart, and I decided to tell it to them. So we lay down in my bed, snuggling, and the story began...
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was very lonely. She lived on a big, wide farm, with her grandfather, grandmother, and occasionally her older brother and father, plus an assortment of animals. There were cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and all the other animals that go with farming. All of the animals had someone to be friends with, and Grandad had Grandmother, but the little girl was very lonely because her mother had just gone to heaven, Daddy didn't come to see her very often, and it just seemed that no one noticed her life was so empty. She longed so much for a playmate, someone to laugh and run with, but no one her age lived close by, and so she spent her days running in the riverbed, talking to the birds and animals, and laying down at night, asking God for someone to be her friend.
One day the girl's father came to see the family and announced he was getting married. He had someone with him to introduce to them, but this made the little girl feel very afraid. What if her father loved this new woman more than he loved her? What if he went away for always, like her mother had? She timidly crept behind the sofa to watch as this new person was introduced into the family. When the new wife entered the room, she brought two others with her, a girl, about 12, and another child, whom the girl could not see from her vantage point, so she struggled to get into a position where she could eye these new found usurpers of her home. Squirming about, trying to get a better vantage point, she came eye to eye with a boy, who was just her age.
Oddly enough he had the same eyes she had, he looked very much like she did, and he stared back at her with the same amazement she was seeing him with. Eye to eye they stood, silent. Then the little girl asked the boy if he would like to go see her river. And off they went to run in the river. After that, the little girl was not lonely anymore, and neither was the little boy. You see, he had lost his father, and was as lonely as the little girl was. He, too had asked God to send a friend to him.
As they grew together, they became more than friends, they became sister and brother, and they spent glorious days running the prairies, running in the riverbed, sharing stories, hopes and dreams. As far as I can tell, the last I knew, that is where they still are.. happily running together in the sun.
My grandson Noah commented as he nodded off to sleep, "that is the best story ever, Granny..." And I have to agree. For it is the story of my brother and I.
Once in a while, once upon a time, once in a lifetime, God listens to the heart of a child, knows exactly what they need, and brings the one person to them, who, of all the people on the planet, can help save them from the loneliness that the world puts on their small shoulders. Once upon a time, God did that for me.
Copyright © 2011 by Susan Linn-Gomez. All Rights Reserved.
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was very lonely. She lived on a big, wide farm, with her grandfather, grandmother, and occasionally her older brother and father, plus an assortment of animals. There were cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and all the other animals that go with farming. All of the animals had someone to be friends with, and Grandad had Grandmother, but the little girl was very lonely because her mother had just gone to heaven, Daddy didn't come to see her very often, and it just seemed that no one noticed her life was so empty. She longed so much for a playmate, someone to laugh and run with, but no one her age lived close by, and so she spent her days running in the riverbed, talking to the birds and animals, and laying down at night, asking God for someone to be her friend.
One day the girl's father came to see the family and announced he was getting married. He had someone with him to introduce to them, but this made the little girl feel very afraid. What if her father loved this new woman more than he loved her? What if he went away for always, like her mother had? She timidly crept behind the sofa to watch as this new person was introduced into the family. When the new wife entered the room, she brought two others with her, a girl, about 12, and another child, whom the girl could not see from her vantage point, so she struggled to get into a position where she could eye these new found usurpers of her home. Squirming about, trying to get a better vantage point, she came eye to eye with a boy, who was just her age.
Oddly enough he had the same eyes she had, he looked very much like she did, and he stared back at her with the same amazement she was seeing him with. Eye to eye they stood, silent. Then the little girl asked the boy if he would like to go see her river. And off they went to run in the river. After that, the little girl was not lonely anymore, and neither was the little boy. You see, he had lost his father, and was as lonely as the little girl was. He, too had asked God to send a friend to him.
As they grew together, they became more than friends, they became sister and brother, and they spent glorious days running the prairies, running in the riverbed, sharing stories, hopes and dreams. As far as I can tell, the last I knew, that is where they still are.. happily running together in the sun.
My grandson Noah commented as he nodded off to sleep, "that is the best story ever, Granny..." And I have to agree. For it is the story of my brother and I.
Once in a while, once upon a time, once in a lifetime, God listens to the heart of a child, knows exactly what they need, and brings the one person to them, who, of all the people on the planet, can help save them from the loneliness that the world puts on their small shoulders. Once upon a time, God did that for me.
Copyright © 2011 by Susan Linn-Gomez. All Rights Reserved.
Wonderful story
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