“Will you be sad?”
“NO! I WILL BE SO HAPPY, MAMA! PLEASE GIVE IT TO HER! I WANT TO SEE HER HAPPY!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. But she showed me it was true.
I held back tears. For every day of my second pregnancy, I’d prayed my two children would be best of friends.
When my husband Cliff went overseas, a Singaporean friend of mine flew to Tanzania to be with us. And then, she left, too. With Papa away and the novelty of our guest gone, I braced myself— our kids might have trouble going to bed that night.
So I prepared gifts for them, one of which was a little puppy stuffed toy I knew my 8-year old would love, specially brought in by our Singaporean guest, since our small town cannot receive international mail.
Two months ago, for her younger sister’s 6th birthday, I’d gifted her lil’ sis a little vet set with a puppy that came with it. As high-quality toys are scarce in our remote little town in Tanzania, this was a rare steal at a fair last year, made possible by an unexpected, timely love gift. But there was only one.
I saw my 8-year old wince, her heart aching with longing. But like a mature big sister, she held it in and cheered her little birthday sis on.
So when I finally presented the stuffed dog to her, tears oozed out of my 8-year old’s eyes as she cried, “I’M SO HAPPY! THESE ARE ALL HAPPY TEARS!”
And as I looked concernedly at her younger sister, my heart swelled with gratitude and my eyes burst with tears when I saw her leap up to hug her older sister, kissing her profusely, saying, “I’m SO HAPPY for you! You have one too! Now my puppy has a friend!”
Unlike what I’d feared, there was no tinge of jealousy. Only a big fierce love for her older sister knowing that she, too, had loved her wholeheartedly, unselfishly— when she cheered her on at her birthday.
Such is their fierce, big love for each other. Such is the power of prayer. And the faithfulness of God.
As they looked at their toys and revelled in the work and miracle it took to get to each of them, they belted out—
“I LOVE YOU, SIS!”
“I LOVE YOU TOO!”
Mama loves you two, too.💛
