Birthday Story For Rachel

Rachel – Ray of Sunshine

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy Birthday 4^th birthday Ray-Ray. I sure do love you!

            Once upon a time in the deep dark woods where no sun could shine, there lived a tiny seedling covered with rich brown earth.

            “Oh how I want to grow,” said the seedling to the root growing next to her.

            “Then you need two things,” the root said. “Rain and sunshine.”

            “How do I make the rain come and the sun shine?” the seedling asked.

            “You can’t make them come,” the root answered. “You can only wait and never stop hoping.”

            So the seedling waited and waited. But the earth remained dry and hard and all the tall trees in the woods blocked the sunlight. Every day the seedling hoped the rain would come and the light from the sun would penetrate the dark forest. Every day, for a long time, nothing happened.

            Just when the seedling had almost given up hope, a low rumbling sound rolled through the forest and grew louder and closer. Soon thunder clouds crashed with explosive light and sound illuminating the forest. Then a sudden downpour of rain penetrated the dry earth reaching the tiny seedling. All the heavy rain bent the limbs of the trees low and after the rain storm passed, a huge ray of sunshine penetrated the forest reaching the damp earth where the seedling was patiently waiting.

            The warmth of the earth around the seedling embraced her and the smell of the damp earth enfolded her. Then slowly, day by day, the seedling felt something stirring within her as if she might burst with joy. Then the hard outside layer of the seedling became soft and a tiny new stem grew up toward the sun from the heart of the seed. Soon the earth swelled and the seedling burst through her prison as a small leaf curling upward toward the ray of light.

            In time the tiny seedling grew into a mighty tree, tall enough to catch all the rays of the sun from her lofty perch in the top of the forest canopy. But the seedling inside the mighty tree never forgot her beginning when it was the waiting time – the time when the seedling never stopped hoping.

            And that my little Ray Ray is how your light will help others grow to become the full measure of their creation. Never quit shining and never quit warming the lives of all those you love. I will always be your grandma and I will always love you.