Maya, a 6-year-old girl, sat in my office calming down from an all-too-often temper tantrum out of control. She was playing Noah's ark Memory cards to calm herself down. After calming down, she continued to play the game by herself when all of a sudden, she stared towards the window and froze. A weird expression came over her face and she whispered, "I'm scared, Miss Jackie." I took her in my arms and hugged her, and said a prayer to the King to keep her safe and take her fears from her.
While I was holding her, I felt God whisper to me to give her my one-eyed teddy bear for tangible comfort. My best friend has given me that bear to use "just in case I needed to with kids." As I brought the bear off the shelf and held it, I explained to Maya that this bear is lonely. She doesn't think she is pretty because of her one eye, which she lost because people were too rough with her. I went on to explain that because of her one eye, her mom didn't want her. I told Maya that she gets really scared easily because people have hit her, mistreated her and cursed at her. Maya's eyes widened and softened at the same time as she said quietly, "Really?" and held her arms out for the bear, fully relating to this bear's story and knowing exactly how it must feel.
I spent the next few minutes explaining to Maya how to be a great friend to the bear - by using kind words, gentle hands and a quiet soft voice - not harsh words or screaming or punching. Maya responded so well and enjoyed cuddling and spending the next 15 minutes (before her aunt came to pick her up) with the bear. She asked me, "Miss Jackie, what is her name?" "Why don't you ask her?" I replied. She leaned her ear to the bear's mouth and said, "Miss Jackie, her name is Jessica."
I am praying that Jessica will help Maya to heal and learn how to behave appropriately. Stay tuned for the adventures of Maya and her new friend, Jessica, as they play together in C4S!
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