“Close your eyes Mummy!” My six year old’s eyes twinkled with glee.
As she opened her hand, tears welled in my eyes. “Happy early Mother’s Day, Mama.”
“But this is your favorite rainbow keychain from your only school backpack,” I stuttered.
“I know,” she beamed. “I’m giving my rainbow to you to give you courage.”
“Courage?”
“To help you overcome your fear, Mama.”
“Of storms?” I smiled, knowing hers.
“No, with next door,” she smiled, knowing mine.
My eyes watered. Memories of her as a baby flooded back when two little hands dug into my neck. Her mouth opened wide, screaming in silence before releasing its unrestrained terror.
Years ago, when she was little, her phobias and huge reactions piqued my concern. A single tiny ant, a faint sound of nail knocked into a wall downstairs, a distant rumble of a motorcycle, would send her into extreme crying fits taking up to an hour (or more!) to soothe.
Over time, I felt exhausted. God, what do I do? How ironic that one of her names is Esther, the name of a queen in the Bible known for her tremendous courage.
But here she was, giving me a piece of something so precious to her to bless me, gifting me the words I gave to her, for my hypersensitivity to the barks next door, complicated by complex trauma.
Just days ago, as we waded through a day filled with disappointments, and drove away with our third disappointment of the day, the biggest rainbow greeted us as we turned the corner.
“That’s God’s way of reminding us, that whenever we face disappointments, He still has something good in store for us,” I said.
Now, she decided to gift me her rainbow, as an emblem of love and courage.💛
“Use it every day, okay, Mummy? So you remember.”
And I will.
Because sometimes, the courage we pour into our children doesn’t just grow in them—it circles back to carry us, too.🦋
In the face of fears and the storms we battle, may we hold on to these unexpected gifts—tiny emblems of love, shining with hope.🎁
May we remember— even on the hardest days, rainbows can carry us through.