Susanna

Another precious baby girl. This one we did not plan. When she asks me later in life if she was a mistake, I say, no you were a wonderful surprise. And she was....Aunt Liz and Uncle Donnie come to visit and Uncle Donnie takes her in his arms and sings O Susanna as only Uncle Donnie can. Grandma insists that she have a new dress for her baptism, and pays for the lunch we have at the church afterward. She is her father's "Lily", all innocence. Our second daughter is most welcome. We now have the "millionaire's family" and we feel most blessed.

At several weeks of age, Daddy puts her into a high chair, laughing at the way she droops. Then, all of a sudden - Oh No!!! - she slips out from under the tray onto the floor. Awful! Horrible! I phone my pediatrician and ask her what to do...Bring her in, just to check that she has not fractured her skull. No, God, please. She is placed on the table to be x-rayed. Right beside her is her Raggedy Ann doll that Grandma has bought her. It is her chief comfort. She looks at the oversized eyes and gurgles and goos. Thank-you, Raggedy! And, wonderful news, she is fine...

When Susanna is seven months old, we move to a larger home. There, she is adopted by Rachel, one of the children's friends. Her first steps are taken into a delighted Rachel's arms...She grows into a dreamy and imaginative little girl. Her perspective on things is always fresh and unique...Her self-expression is delightful....Mommy, when you do that, you hurt my failings...I don't believe that Bible story. No one could sneeze seven times....You funny little Susanna!

Off she goes to school and becomes part of the smart kids' crowd...Such wonderful friends - Emily, Deanna, Jentine...and when a dark side begins to evidence itself in her social circle, she sees it and identifies it immediately. She sees things with a frightening clarity, and always calls a spade a spade. Take me or leave me. This is who I am.

In adolescence she is torn. Who am I? Am I a romantic, or am I the girl who sees it like it is and tells it like it is? And for a time she is torn. What? Who? A trip to L'Abri compounds the problem...May the ghost of Francis Schaeffer haunt you all!...And there are a few rough years. But God works. And a wonderful young man comes into her life. They break our hearts by moving to New York. But God knows what is best.

And Susanna becomes the young woman that now richly blesses others. She loves many, listening, compassionating and offering solid advice. She thinks and ponders and writes. She continues to see with that unwavering eye, but there is rich grace and mercy in her responses. She loves her Saviour, her husband and her children with all her heart. Susanna, I love you and am proud that you are my daughter.