"And these things, she pondered in her heart."
When I was younger, I never really had a relationship with Mary, the Blessed Mother. It may have been because I never had a good relationship with my own mother, but regardless, I didn't know Mary. Yet, as I grew, especially my Senior year of High School and my Freshmen year in College and NOW, Mary has become one of my closest friends. It all started when I fell in love with the Magnificat; when I heard it with truly open ears. "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." As I grew with Mary, all of her words spoken in Scripture echoed so greatly in my heart. When I started singing at Masses, my favorite days to sing were Mary days because I got to sing the Magnificat and the Ave Maria. Whenever I sang them, I never felt like I myself sung them, but really Mary through my voice. This morning, I sported my blue and white for the Holiest Mother of God and was surprised to hear my sister, Mary, singing my favorite hymns. It was as if God, Himself, chose them just for me.
Now, not only did God handpick those songs for me to sing and listen to at Mass, but He also sent my favorite little parishioners. When I was in High School, on my days off, I would go to my grade school to be a lunch aide. They called them, "Lunch Mothers," but the little girls, who possessed much more rationale, told me I wasn't a mother and referred to me as, "Lunch Sister." I loved it, of course. I would spend all of recess playing games with the kids and whenever we would all be at Mass together, I would have a fan club. Some of the kids would sit with me, while others would simply attack me with love and hugs after Mass. It was perfect. To this day, there are still some of the kids who sit with me, three years later. They don't even ask me if they can sit with me anymore, they just leave their parents and slide into my pew, open their books and pray. It is quite possibly the most precious thing I have ever witnessed.
Today, two of the little girls from that group of students slid into my pew with my littlest sister. My littlest sister and I have the tradition to pray Morning Prayer together before every Sunday Mass and even though we were in the middle of praying, my sister invited the little ones to pray with us. We sat there, reading the Psalms and prayers and Canticles. Although they were trying to whisper, their voices could be heard throughout the whole church. Some other parishioners couldn't figure it out and turned to look, but others knew right away that it was Becky, with the kids.
You see, I've always been surrounded by little kids because I'm so childlike myself. The little ones offer me so much simplicity and honesty while I offer them a fun playtime. In my family, I'm the goofy, older cousin that is more often seen chasing the little ones than sitting at a table engaging in adult conversation. I'm the one everyone calls up to babysit and I'm the one who should really be running a Sunday School program with all the little ones. Little kids flock to me, and cling to me like a magnet. And so many have told me that because of this, I would make such a great mother one day. I simply would smile and nod, knowing that God has other plans for me. It's not as if I haven't thought about it; I have, many times. I know I would make a great mama, just like Mary did for Jesus, and I simply love little kids. But, as I sat, surrounded by all the the little ones, I had an of me, in a habit, a few years down the line, sitting in a church, surrounded my children.
With a major in Secondary Ed, I'm not sure I would be teaching little kids. But maybe on Sundays, if my Superior lets me, I could teach Sunday School; a dream I've always had. Surrounded by the little kids, reading the Bible. Or maybe those little kids in church, will the ones from my Parish, who automatically leave their parents and sit with me in my pew on Sundays.
No comments:
Post a Comment