A Special Gift to Share...

A beautiful friend wrote a short story for me.

When I read it, I cried.... good tears!!

It is something I will cherish always, a special gift from her to me.

I thought I would share this special gift from my friend today on what would have been Charlotte's due date.

She would have been three years old.

Today is also the first day of NOAHvember. Noah had a special gift. Each day he was here, he made those around him more loving, more selfless, more peaceful. His soul shone so brightly out of his uncooperative body that you couldn't help but be touched, moved and changed. My daughter had a special gift too and once she had finished sharing it, it was time for her to go. To leave me, touched, moved and changed.

And so here is this special gift from my friend.

"CHARLOTTE"

It was a beautiful warm day in the heavens, the grass was perfectly green, the sky was perfectly blue and all around there was the warm glow of love. The blond girl with blue eyes was sitting at the end of a small wooden pier and gently gliding a stick through the water. The pier over-looked a small lake and as she looked up through her blond lashes the girl could see people going about their routine. Some were walking and talking, some were sitting on benches just taking in the day. All were dressed in white of course. Beyond the lake the trees gave way to rolling hills and in the very distance the girl could see the spire at the top of the temple. The girl loved to go to the temple and that was where she had been today and was the reason for her contemplative mood. She had just been given her calling; it was time to go to earth. She had known it was coming of course, she had been watching her ‘mother’ for a very long time. In fact, they were really sisters and had loved each other very much. That was the way it was, they all shared their wonderful Heavenly Father and Mother but when they went to Earth their relationships changed. They would always be sisters of course but for this earth journey her sister was to become her Mother.

The blond girl twisted slightly so that she could dangle her toes into the crisp clean water. She was excited to go; I mean why wouldn’t she be? It was her journey. But she was equally as nervous as she remembered the covenant she had made with her Heavenly Father. She was scared of not remembering Him and she was scared of making all the wrong choices. But most of all she was scared of not making her way back. She shivered slightly as she contemplated such a thing. But then she remembered all her preparations. She had prepared well, she thought. She had spent much time working on her gifts to take to her earthly life. She wanted to do well and to please her Father. She knew he would love her anyway but mostly she didn’t want to disappoint Him. The girl sighed and pulled her legs up and underneath her dress. She was happy to be going and her happiness filled her with warmth as she imagined what it might be like to have a body just like her Father. She was also looking forward to being a Mother. She could tell that it was a very special thing to do and one that changed you forever. She could tell this from watching those who had gone before her. It was also the most wonderful gift her Father had given to her; to all women. She wondered how it might feel to be a Mother? She had always just felt like a child. A child of God of course but a child none the less and she wondered if she would lose that feeling once she became a Mother. Only one way to find out I guess, she thought and she glanced up once more towards the temple.

As she looked she could see someone running excitedly over the hills towards the lake. It was her sister. Her sister also had blond hair but her eyes were a green-grey and had always been something to admire. The blue eyed girl could see that her sister was in a hurry. She was heading her way and she looked very happy. She almost skipped as she ran toward her and her long blond hair bounced and fell around her face as she moved. She rose to her feet as her sister approached ready to greet her. Her sister ran into her arms and they embraced briefly. The blue-eyed girl noticed that her sister smelled like summer rain, it was a smell that reminded her of their Father and it always gave her comfort. They pulled back from the embrace and looked at each other holding hands on out-stretched arms.

‘I have news’ breathed the green-eyed girl and she grinned from ear to ear. The blue-eyed girl felt her mind quicken as she waited for her sister to tell her. ‘Come and sit with me so I can share it with you.’

They walked off the last of the jetty and onto the lush green grass. It was soft and crisp all at the same time and the blue-eyed girl tried to focus on the feel of it beneath her feet. She wanted to calm herself before her sister told her the news but she also wanted to capture the memory of her home. It was almost time for her to go and she hoped that even though she wouldn’t be able to remember this place, she might be able to remember the feel of it.

They chose a spot under a huge majestic oak tree and sat down. As they sat they both tucked their legs under their dresses and their hair behind their ears in a simultaneous movement that made them giggle.

‘So tell?!’ exclaimed the blue-eyed girl. She couldn’t wait any longer.

The green-eyed girl almost bounced as she spoke ‘I’m coming to be your daughter. Father asked me to tell you’ And she squealed with delight. The blue-eyed girl gasped with surprise.

‘For real?’ she asked with disbelief. ‘But I thought they had all been chosen for me? My children have all been chosen? Are you sure?’

The green eyed girl smiled and said, ‘Yes, but Father wants to bless you even more. He thinks you are ready to have something different to the others. A different experience.’

This alerted the blue-eyed girl to something she knew she was missing.

‘How will it be different?’ she asked almost not wanting to know the answer. The green-eyed girl looked shy . . . and a little sad. She took the blue-eyed girls hand once again and kissed her on the cheek before she spoke,

‘I don’t get to stay for very long. In fact, it won’t seem like any time at all.’

‘But why?’ the blue-eyed girl asked. ‘Am I being tested?’

‘Well, Yes, But It’s more about my journey’ explained the green-eyed girl. ‘Father has decided that I am to go and fulfil my earthly role but I am only to have a heart beat and a body for a short time.’

The blue-eyed girl sat quietly and considered this new information. She had seen many others commence their journey and had been awed by their difficult paths they were each given, always slightly different but equally as challenging. She had known they were given these experiences for their own growth and she had always hoped she could be given something a bit tricky too. She would never complain though, she was ridiculously grateful to be given all that she had been promised already and she eagerly awaited the fulfilment of His plan. She just never thought she deserved to be given more. And now here was her sister telling her that she had been chosen to be her mother. Her sister had always been so humble and obedient. It was no surprise that she didn’t need long on earth. She felt so happy for her that she was suddenly filled with love and gratitude. She snapped out of her surprise and hugged her sister tightly.

‘I couldn’t be happier’ the blue eyed girl exclaimed. ‘I can’t believe it. It is more than I deserve. Are you happy? Is this what you hoped for?’

The green-eyed girl looked up from beneath her delicate eyelashes and smiled her shy smile. ‘There’s no other path I would rather take than this one with you.’ She said kindly and she truly meant it.

They both took in the moment with a mixture of love, gratitude and something else that they couldn’t name. But it was a defining moment and they both knew it. Then something occurred to the blue-eyed girl and she frowned slightly,

‘What about all the variables?’ she asked, ‘’What if I don’t choose the path that brings me to you?’

The green-eyed girl smiled again and spoke with quiet satisfaction, ‘He said it doesn’t matter; I’m coming to you. I’m to be yours no matter what.’

‘Wow!’ said the blue-eyed girl and they both sat wide-eyed for a moment.

After a while they both began to notice the white wisps of cloud creeping across the sky.

‘We should go’ the blue eyed girl said, ‘its nearly time for me to go and I don’t want to be late.’ She tried to stand but her sister held her down.

‘Wait’ she said, ‘there’s something else’

‘What is it?’ asked the blue-eyed girl. She was a little worried. What else could it be?

The green-eyed girl moved her lips as though she was considering the best way to say it.

‘I’m going to be different’ she said quickly. ‘And you might not understand why.’ The blue-eyed girl watched her sister quizzically and waited for an explanation.

‘I’m not going to be tested by the dark one. I will be exempt from his influence. But you know what this means don’t you?’

She did. She knew that it would mean that her sister’s body would have a different form. She knew that this was the ultimate journey for one as righteous as her sister. She tried to take in what this meant. She was suddenly filled with joy that their Father would choose her to be the mother of such a glorious spirit as her sister with her blond hair and green all-seeing eyes.

‘I feel so honoured that our Father would give me such a gift. I really can’t believe it.’ Said the blue-eyed girl. And she already felt inadequate to have been entrusted with such a blessing.

The green eyed girl could tell that her sister felt this way but she also knew that this was part of the reason her Father had chosen her for the role. She smiled again as she said,

‘You’re going to be perfect for what is meant to be. And the best part is, you get to choose my name!’ and she giggled with excitement. She watched her sister as her eyes filled with tears and love.

‘I like Charlotte’ she whispered. ‘I think I’ll call you Charlotte.’

‘I like that! I like it a lot.’ Said the green-eyed girl and they both rose and started walking toward the temple and to say goodbye for a short time. 

As they walked they looped their arms through one another’s and felt at peace in their last moments together. Every now and then they would exchange a smile but no words were spoken. None were needed, they were happy to enjoy the quiet sweet company of each other and relish in their last moments before it all changed.

As they reached the peak of the final hill before the temple the green eyed girl stopped suddenly but held on tightly to the blue-eyed girls arm. She had one more thing she wanted to say before they were surrounded by the their brothers and sisters.

‘It’s going to be hard for you and it’s going to seem like a very long time for you until we are reunited. But always remember that this is a gift. And the most important part is that this is how you will remember this place and remember me. This is Fathers gift to you to help you to remember. And one day we will be together again. Only, by then, we will have grown in truth and light.’ She leaned in and kissed the blue-eyed girl whose eyes were swimming. ‘I love you’ she said finally and the blue-eyed girl smiled knowing it to be true.

As the headed down the hill to the others the blue eyed girl glanced up at her sister and said lovingly ‘I love you too’ she then bumped her hip into her sister cheekily and winked and said,

‘I’ll see you on the other side.’