Day 31 & 32 (Sat, 6th May -Sun 7th May 2006): Saturday was a red letter day for me. It was a day for my formal Baptism in church. It also marked the one month anniversary since my birth. Not to mention, it also happened to be my Aunty Iris's birthday! Papa says that it was also Polling Day in Singapore- marking the birth of a "new" government.
Saturday saw many friends and relatives coming to see me at St Mary of the Angels Church for my formal baptism. Father O'Neil presided over the ceremony. He had been there at the NICU to do the emergency baptism on me just after I came out of mummy's tummy.
Papa brought me to see mummy's resting place in the church, before and after the baptism. We said prayers together at mummy's final resting place. We told mummy how much we missed her, and invited her to join us during the baptism that day, and told her that she would have been proud of me. Papa said that I had been very well behaved. Sadly, it has also been one month since my mummy went to heaven. Papa says it only seems like yesterday.
Dearest Evan (for when you are 10 or 11)
ReplyDeleteIt was a great joy to meet you at your baptism. There are many people who care for your Mum and Dad and who are praying for you. My personal prayer is that one day you will be able to understand and accept with Faith, all that has happened.
Although I didn't know your Mum so well, she greeted me with a sunny "Hello Michele" a few weeks before your birth, as I was hurrying to Church late, head bent. I think she must have been brimming with the joy of looking forward to your arrival. I wish I had seen her before I passed her... so we could have talked about you.
God loves us all as if each of us were the only ones on earth. We are each of us so especially loved by Him. Some of us are, however, more ready to see Him than others. We must believe that your Mummy was in such a state of grace, that it was her time to be called to His side, even though it meant such harshness for you and your Papa.
Through all the loving things that have been said of your Mummy by those who knew her well, you must know that she was a very special person. Remember that. That as her son, you are very special too. You will meet her one day, you just have to be patient and wait - right now, she is your strongest and loveliest guardian angel, right there by your side.
The sadness your Papa feels only reflects how much he loved your Mummy. Nobody understands why God allows such difficult things to happen to good people like your Mum and Papa. We can only believe that God knows what he's doing - that amongst us all, your Papa is one of those who will be strong, level headed and will always be there for you, despite his great loss.
Gregory, who is 11, told me a few years ago (when he was learning more about God), that there was someone who loved him more than I. I was shocked. Of course that wasn't true. I am his mummy. There was no one who loved him more than I did. But Gregory explained to me that God loved him even more than I, or his father did. I hope one day you will know that in your heart too. That you carry God and your Mummy in you, and their LOVE for you knows no bounds. And He has a plan for you.
Perhaps one day you can meet Gregory, Ashley and Christopher (who is only a few months younger than you). But in the meantime, grow well, in body and in spirit, and till we next meet again,
Auntie Michele