Love Like Lindy
Written on July 3, 2022
Today, like most days, has been bittersweet. A few months ago, the Lord put a certain little girl from Acadiana Christian School (where the kids went) on my heart so heavily. I have always known her and her family, but just only casually. I didn't personally "know" her. There was just something about her that reminded me of Lindy. As a young child Lindy was bursting with creativity and imagination that would eventually become a masterpiece that would be recognized by many. But while she was young, due to her lack of confidence, you would never known all the magical things that were kept inside. She had a kind, giving heart. She had artistic talents that were out of this world. She would create the most intricate little figures out of clay and paint them. There were just so many God-given talents that she unfortunately hid from the world throughout her childhood.
As she got older, she began to slowly creep out of that self-conscious shell that kept her from so much. Her potential began to spill out. Her talents and her heart were recognized by so many, mostly people involved with school & church. She would spend hours upon hours making crafts for school functions. She would put together the most creative and thoughtful gifts for her closest friends. She became the unofficial photographer for countless school functions. It brought me so much joy to see how God transformed her life into the most beautiful, loving, funny and of course * boujee * young lady I ever did have the pleasure of knowing.
Every time I would see this girl that I mentioned above, I was brought back to Lindy's younger years. I knew that The Lord wanted me to encourage her. My first thoughts were to create a little basket of goodies for her. I asked her mom what were her hobbies and interests and she told me “art”. This was another confirmation from God that she was so much like my Lindy and blessing her was something I needed to do. Of course, I told Katie about this, since she a shopaholic and often gets a little relief from grief with retail therapy. Katie and I picked things up here and there and soon, we had an extremely cute basket filled with things that little girls her age would love.
Katie mentioned that we most likely had enough and that we should probably get the gift to her soon. Since she frequents TJ Maxx and Ross so often, it wouldn’t be a difficult task for her to add onto this gift forever! But…I felt a nudging to go look through Lindy's art closet. I felt God whisper for me to bless her with some of Lindy's personal art supplies that I cherished so dearly. I know that many of these art supplies would unfortunately collect dust in the years to come, as I do not have an artistic cell in my body. It was still difficult to part with Lindy’s things, but I attribute this to another realization that my little girl is truly gone and won’t be coming back to use these things, not the physical act of giving these things away.
We had to a church event this afternoon and I knew she would be there. I loaded everything up and gifted her with a basket of so many Lindy things. Yes, it was bittersweet. I knew in my heart that I needed to "Love Like Lindy" and bless and encourage this little girl. I felt that Lindy could live through her and I know without a doubt, she would want me to do this. Her mom said that all of the contents of this gift are all things that she loves. God is so good. Even though it hurt my heart to give some of Lindy's things away, the joy I received to bless this little girl far outweighed the pain.
My suggestion to all my bereaved parents is to try and do something kind for someone. Even though I know all to well that grief doesn't leave you alone, maybe, just maybe, you can experience a moment of joy when you see something from your child can bless another child. I believe that even on our saddest day, we can experience joy because we trust that the promises of God are true and that in time beauty comes from all things.
"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you. plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11