Hammy, Part Two

The next day, I was so incredibly proud of Dayna. She and I went for a run together where we could talk and she could think her thoughts out loud. Toward the end of her run, she decided that she wanted to go to the fair anyway and talk about Hammy.

So we printed a picture of her sweet pet and headed to Wahoo. Once we got there, we had a quick conversation with the Superintendent of Clover Kids who pulled Dayna aside with one of the judges. They were able to talk briefly, and even changed the order of presentations so Dayna could go early and not have to wait and anticipate her turn.

Dayna's bravery speaks so loudly to me. I don't know that I could have done what she did. Without so much as faltering, she shared with a few hundred people what she loved about her hamster and why he was so special.

Later that night, Dayna wanted to have a slumber party with me. We snuggled and talked late into the evening about all sorts of things. While her prayers were that God would bring Hammy back to life, my prayers were that she could learn to surrender.

Yeah...I had a not-so-shining Mommy moment when I suggested she read John 11. You know...the part where Jesus wept after the death of his friend? It didn't dawn on me right away that the friend was Lazarus, who came back to life. Dayna asked if we could wait 4 days to bury her hamster, "just in case." She then realized that "he might start to smell, though." We compromised with the fact that Hammy and Jesus both died on a Friday. Jesus came back on Sunday morning. Thus, after church on Sunday, we had a small hamster funeral in our back yard.

But back to surrender...in the dark of our slumber party, while I was holding her close, I shared with Dayna a song that has meant so much to me through the years. We talked through the lyrics. I sang it to her. She got my iPod and listened to the song over and over. It's a song of surrender...giving God what you think you want so He can give you what you need. And until you're ready to surrender, to just cry out, "hold me, Jesus!"

"Hold Me, Jesus"



While the days are getting easier (and we have introduced a new friend to the family...not as a replacement, because no critter can replace Hammy...simply a new friend), we all still have days where we miss our "little hamster dude." And I continue to pray that Dayna can use this very hard lesson to prepare her for more of the "yucky stuff" that life will bring her someday. Because I know that God is using this to build her faith and her heart.