The Little Girl

“Can I sleep beside you tonight?”

This query from an eight-year-old girl startled me.  I opened my eyes and looked at her round face fringed by straight bangs.

“Well, why don’t you stay in yours?  Look, your bed is just beneath mine.  See how close we are?”

I closed my eyes and continued praying.  The little girl’s younger sister then came to tell me her sister was crying.  I climb down to ground level and put my arm around the silently sobbing girl.

“What’s wrong, dear?”

After a pause, she looks up at me.  “I miss my mom.  I miss my mom every day.”

She then put her head down and continued crying.  I laid my head on her shoulder and couldn’t help but grieve with her.  Later that night, she woke me up several times to ask if she could climb into my bed, and I finally conceded at dawn.  She then lay down beside me, snuggled against me, and promptly fell asleep.

I remember when she came to the children’s home with her 3 sisters.  I was volunteering at this children’s home in the winter of 2009 when they came.  Their mom had passed away from liver failure and other complications. 

This incident caused me to ponder about raising orphaned children.  How do we replace their parents’ love?  Is that even possible?  What does it mean to be a surrogate parent?  I do not claim to know the answer to any of the questions, but I do know one thing: love is the most important thing we can give a child, more than toys, fancy clothes, and delectable food.