Tessa

 and 

the 

White Buffalo

By

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy fourth birthday Tessa dear. 

I love you so.

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Tessa. She wanted a pet buffalo more than anything.

When she asked her parents to buy her one, they said, “Oh Tessa, how about a kitten or a puppy?”

But Tessa didn’t change her mind. She talked about buffalos. She dreamed about buffalo. Tessa drew pictures of buffalos until they filled the entire space on her bedroom walls.

“Can I have a white buffalo - please,” Tessa said to her parents at supper.

“We do not live on the wide open plains,” her father said. “Buffalos need to roam.”

“We could move to the wide open plains,” Tessa answered.

“Buffalos like to eat lots of food,” her mother said. We only have a small refrigerator.”

“We could buy a bigger refrigerator,” Tessa answered.

“One pet buffalo would get lonely,” Tessa’s father said.

“We could get a whole family of buffalos,” Tessa answered.

Tessa’s mother and father shook their heads and said, “Sorry Tessa - no.”

One day Tessa’s Grandma and her Aunt Alisa came to visit. Tessa talked about buffalos. Grandma and Alisa listened and listened.

Then Grandma said, “Tessa, now it is your turn to listen. When I was a little girl I went to a Native American village. The elders in the village told me about the legend of the white buffalo. Did you know that the white buffalo is a symbol of abundance? Abundance means our life is not just about struggling and surviving. God’s love is all around us. We are all connected. God supplies all our needs. Did you know that the birth of a white buffalo signifies the renewal of the relationship God has with the people of the earth? The white buffalo ties all of us to the sacredness of life. Some even see the white buffalo as a symbol of the second coming of Christ – God’s greatest gift to us.”

“Well,” her Aunt Alisa said, “Tessa, your mom and dad gave me a pattern for a stuffed animal for my birthday. I think I might share my abundance with you on your birthday.”

Tessa waited and waited. Finally her birthday came. Her grandma and grandpa and Aunt Alisa came over to give her a present.

 “The gift that was given to me is now my gift to you,” Alisa said.

Then Aunt Alisa gave Tessa a large stuffed white buffalo.

When Tessa fell asleep, her buffalo was at her side. That night she dreamed of a beautiful woman dressed in white robes.

“Everything is connected,” the beautiful woman said. “Pray and follow your path to discover the love of God. Then you will find peace of mind and spirit.”

When Tessa woke, she looked at the white buffalo and smiled.

“Someday I will be the beautiful woman dressed in white and I will guide others on their path back to God’s love,” Tessa said.

Then Tessa looked out the window and saw white clouds in the east as the sun rose over the mountains casting a warm glow over the earth.

"Everything is connected," Tessa whispered. "God's love and abundance is all around me and inside me forever."