She is one of the most caring people that I've ever met...even at 3 years old she shows me what it's like to look someone straight in the eyes and show them that you're totally focused on them, completely enveloped in making sure they're ok. She does it with Mason, Randal, me, and other little ones that she plays with. Sure, she acts like a true toddler a lot, but she also just astonishes me when she pauses and shows how compassionate her heart is already.
I just love her...and all of her goofiness!
Her blonde hair and blue eyes couldn't be much different than my brown hair and green eyes. We sure look alike in a lot of ways, but those are not them. She's gorgeous with her slight curls that she gets when her hair is freshly washed and with her pretty eyes that pop up against her favorite pink dresses. And she has this great birthmark - this beautiful red pattern that covers most of her left hand and arm.
When Madison was born, the nurse thought she had been bruised during labor. We quickly realized, rather, that she had a large birthmark. My sister has a very similar birthmark on the top part of the back of her arm, so I wasn't alarmed, but did have to answer a lot of questions. Inevetibly, when someone meets Madison for the first time, since her birthmark is so visible, they question it. They worry that she's sick or has had an allergic reaction to something, etc - so they bring it to my attention, which is very nice and sweet and done with the best of intentions, even if it is done repeatedly ;)
It's beautiful. I call it her "mood ring" because it changes colors based on temperature and what kind of mood she's in, which is awesome on all counts. When she was a baby I could always tell when she was most content and when she most angry based on the color it was. It's something that even Mason has voiced that he thinks is cool and he wishes he had one.
To be brutally honest, I didn't overthink it when Madison was born - it wasn't a big deal. But then I got to thinking about it's placement and visibility and how much she would be asked about it over the course of her life and I ached for her. It's not a big deal, but it would be a constant, and could get frustrating for sure.
So I started hunting, looking for a kids' book about birthmarks. Something for us to have at the house that would let her know how special it is and how special she is. I found ONE book:
Now, aside from the obviously horrible title, I thought this looked like a decent book. It's written by a kid and his mom because he was born with a facial mark and they couldn't find any books that made him feel like he wasn't alone.
Sounded great.
It was not.
It was all about how the mom tried to hide the child because she was ashamed of it...definitely NOT how I felt and NOT the message I wanted Madison to get....so the Booby book (you can giggle, it's ok) went straight into the trash and we were back at square one.
I thought about it more than I probably should have - asking God to show me just how I could show my daughter how beautiful this mark was and how special it made her, while it didn't define how people would come to see her.
Over the past couple of years, He's opened my eyes to a much bigger picture of what I'm trying to show my daughter. He's shown me the marks He's left on me and how they make me the beautiful woman that I am today and what that means for Madison.
Madison's birthmark is special. It's unexplained by science and genetics and it is exactly how God knit her together inside of this proud mommy. I love that, while I'm figuring out what is unique about me on the inside, in what ways God has set me apart from others, Madison's first clue that she is a special creation and loved by her Maker is there for her everytime she looks down.
This girl can sing!
She is a lucky girl - she has a beautiful outward piece of evidence that God has done a work on her, has painted her into a woman who can point to her Savior and recognize all of the unique ways He's gifted her to serve. It's like He put His signature on one of His greatest paintings...to show her the rest - how caring, how compassionate, how hilarious, how talented He has made her in all these other ways.
I hope Madison sees her birthmark as a blessing, no matter how many times she's asked about it. I want her to know how beautiful it is and how beautiful she is from the inside out because of all the things that make her the lovely girl that she is.
And I pray that, when her future husband slips a ring on that beautiful left hand, he knows how special the woman that he loves is, because of how unique and set apart she is in the One who put that beautiful red mark on His daughter.
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