CHAPEL BY THE SEA
Welcome to the Chapel on Sissy Lou's Safe Haven. Here you will find
peace and a little something I wrote that might make you think a little
about yourself. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Molly
She was tattered and torn and her face was dirty.
One arm hung loosely by her side.
Her hair was matted with lint and other debris from outside excursions with Sarah.
I picked her up by the one arm that was still intact as I straightened up the cluttered den.
Immediately Sarah reprimanded me, “Please don’t pick her up by the arm. It will hurt Molly.
I replied with much dismay, “Sarah, why would you want to keep this doll?”
“She has about had it and Nana will buy you another one, a beautiful doll.
This horrified look came into Sarah’s eyes. There was silence for a moment and with
Tears in her eyes she told me that Molly was her best friend and that there was no
Doll like her. She began to relate to me a story that literally kept me spellbound.
She told me about Molly being her best friend and she could tell her all her secrets and
She understood and that she loved it when Molly called her mommy.
I knew that my granddaughter had quite an imagination, which reminded me a lot of
Myself as a child.
As Sarah continued to talk, deep inside I began to feel something swell
Up inside of me, something that I had never felt before. As much as I tried to understand
What I was feeling I could not because it was so profound.
Sarah told me that she was going to take her doll to her Aunt Shawnie and that she knew that she could fix her as she sewed her arm back on and mended her dress. Sarah told me
That when her Aunt Shawnie finished with her that she would be as good as new.
I watched as Sarah gently picked up that old tattered doll and carefully placed her in a
Plastic bag. Sarah placed Molly on my antique table by the front door so she wouldn’t
Forget to carry her when we went to church that night.
As I drove those fourteen miles my mind was on other things. I didn’t notice the scenery on the way as I usually did, nor did I pay much attention to the constant chatter of Sarah with her little brother in the back seat of my car.
My thoughts went back in time. I could visualize another little girl with her dolls, sitting on the floor of her grandparent’s house. That little girl was me. It was like a video
Recorder was replaying my life. I watched in my mind’s eyes as I meditated on what
Sarah has said that afternoon about her Molly.
I thought of that deeply troubled curly haired little girl growing up. Years of self abuse,
Alcoholism and drug abuse and three beautiful daughters that she birthed who went through some very hard times because of her problems. Also I thought of the victory I
Had over those powers of addiction that were about to take my life.
Also I could see my daughters maturing in a lot of way, becoming independent and self-assured in their lives. Maybe I had done something right.
But most of all I saw something else that my little six year old granddaughter taught me
That afternoon. I understood for the first time the love of God. This revelation didn’t come to me through a sermon but a little girl who saw something of beauty in an ugly old
Doll. She looked beyond her outward appearance. She possessed that unconditional love
That could see the finished product.
I could see God viewing me that same way as I visualized my daughter sewing Molly’s arm back in place and mending her dress, washing her face and making her better than she was before.
That same thing was happening to me. God in all of his infinite love and mercy was doing the same to me. He was cleaning me up, mending my broken heart. I was like clay
In the potter’s hand. I was being refined by fire.
I had made many mistakes in my life which made me feel unclean, tattered, torn,
And useless but my ultimate goal was to be better than I was before, just like Molly.
The love of God was doing the same in my life. My journey was not complete but
I was well on my way. A quiet peace came over me as I thought of Molly and a little
Girl who looked at what I perceived as an ugly old doll and saw a thing of beauty.
I am thankful that God looked beyond my faults and saw my need. Just remember
All you abused children and adult survivors. God loves you!
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