A Symbol of Her Faith

For my family, the summer of 2011 will always be known as the summer our oldest daughter grew up.  It started with her asking to get her ears pierced.  I was six when I got my ears pierced, so I had no problem with it, but she had to ask Daddy for his approval.  He said first that he would think about it.  A few days later, she came up to him very sweetly and told him how brave she would be, and Daddy agreed, but no firm date was set.

The most important decision our daughter made this summer was to follow Jesus as her Savior.  She very clearly admitted that she was a sinner, but that she knew Jesus had died to forgive her of her sin, and she wanted to commit her life to him for always.  Two weeks later, she was baptized.

The next week, we had the perfect opportunity for her to get her ears pierced, and we seized it.  She did great!  Without the least bit hesitation, she sat on the chair and let the woman at Claire's punch the holes.  My daughter's little face was victorious when she got her first glimpse of herself!

Fast forward six weeks.  The studs could be removed for the first time.  I had declared that only 14K gold earrings would need to be in my daughter's ears for a long while to prevent infection.  They're much more expensive than costume jewelry but worth it in the long run for young ears.  My aunt (who had spoiled me rotten as a child and now does so with my children) was down for a visit, and she wanted to buy the first new earrings.  Off the entire family headed to the mall.  As we looked at the case of children's jewelry (in Zales, I might add, they were super helpful), my daughter was convinced she wanted cross earrings.  "Are you sure?" I asked several times, thinking she might regret not getting the cute dragonflies, ladybugs, hearts, or butterflies.  Time and again, she told all of the adults huddled around her that she did indeed want the crosses. 

I'll tell you something that might surprise a lot of fellow Christians.  I've never much been a fan of crosses used in jewelry.  The cross wasn't beautiful.  My Savior died on that terrible instrument of torture.  But in that moment in the jewelry store, my daughter wanted more than any other cute little pair of earrings something that would show her faith.  So we went with the cross earrings, and they were on sale, so my aunt surprised her with a pair of dragonflies too.

My aunt put the dragonflies in my daughter's ears the first time we changed the studs out because she was going to be wearing a dress the next day that they would match, but the next night, we changed them out to the crosses at my daughter's request so that she could wear them to school. She wore them happily all week, and then, on Thursday, something sad happened.  After getting a bath and changing into her pajamas, one of the crosses fell out of her ear.  At first she didn't realize it because she was wrestling in the floor with her Daddy, sisters, and brother.  I was gone to a ladies' meeting at church.  Everyone searched all over the living room without me, but couldn't find the earring.

When I came home, I was so heartbroken for my little girl.  Daddy had put the studs back in ears for her.  I was so impressed!  He had assured her that if the earring wasn't found, we would get her a new pair, knowing how important the pair had been to her.  We were all too willing to do this, but we prayed that God would let us find the original symbol of our daughter's new faith.  

The next morning, after my daughter had gone to school, I was working in my girls' room.  Lo and behold, I saw a little shimmer of gold on the floor!  It was the earring back!  I praised God and continued to pray that He would open my eyes throughout the day so that I could find the earring.  

After school, I asked my daughter where she'd gotten dressed, and I then proceeded to crawl on my hands and knees from that corner of her bedroom to the den where the wrestling had taken place, thinking it might have taken time for the earring to work it's way out of her ear from the place the back fell off.  Lo and behold again!  In the little crevice of the stair down into the den, I found the cross!  Glory to God!  He's so good to us even in the little, mundane things!  I can't tell you how happy this Mama was to put those little crosses back in my little girl's ear, screwing the back on tighter this time, and to see her wear them happily all this week!

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