Rachel
– Ray of Sunshine
by
Grandma
Baadsgaard
Happy
Birthday 4th 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.
