My American Girl Doll

My daughter has wanted a real American Girl Doll for years.  She's read all the books and loves them.  We've gotten her two cheaper off brand dolls because we wanted to be sure she'd take care of them and actually play with them before getting her the real doll.  She does, and she has lots of clothes and accessories for them.

This year for Christmas we told our kids to pick 3 things they really wanted, and we'd see what we could do.  To say that money is tight in a one income family of 8 is cliche.  So, we wanted them to really think about their requests.  Our daughter asked for one thing only, her long awaited doll.

Her favorite is the Addy doll.  She is an African American growing up in the Civil War days.  Even her choice of dolls shows me the compassion and love for God's diversity that drives our girl.  I still remember when she first came out of her room late one night, upset because she'd been reading about some of the things Addy and her mother had experienced.

Historical fiction can do a terrific job of introducing some hard realities for a young mind to comprehend.  This was one of the first times we really began to talk frankly about why hatred still exists in our city, and we prayed for reconciliation together.   Our girl began to understand social justice that day in a new and personal way.

There have been a couple other issues we have discussed as a family.  Our girl believes that babies are babies from the beginning of their lives and should be protected.  Also, she feel strongly about adoption.  She asked me one day, "Mom, if us kids get the money together, could we adopt a baby?".  How do you say no to that?  Of course, their only income so far is from the tooth fairy, so it may take awhile.  We prayed together for more adoptions to be released in our nation, and for our family's provision and direction as we open our lives to others.

Yesterday, we got a World Vision Gift catalog.  She flipped through it the same way she does her American Girl catalogs when they come in the mail.   She told me that for $100 we could give a goat and two chickens to an overseas family.  She asked me, "Mom, what is the child sex trade?  Does it mean that people pay to..." She trailed off because she knew.   All I could do in answer, through the tears catching in my throat, was hug her and tell her that I was so sorry that the world is full of such awful things.  We prayed with authority against the oppressive forces which destroy children and the innocent in our world.

Then our girl told us that she wanted to give her American Girl gift money toward sponsoring a family this year.  She realized that the gift of a goat and two chickens could save a little girl like her from getting sold into the sex trade; a family from going hungry.  She recognized that she could do something about it. 

She cried when she made this decision.  When I asked her why, she told me that it was a sacrifice.  She's had her heart set on that doll for at least 5 years.  Yet she recognizes that Jesus made the the ultimate sacrifice for her and His presence in her and her faith compel her to obey the mandate to care for the poor.

We joked about how  in heaven maybe she'll have a lot of American Girl dolls, even the discontinued ones. I imagine her playing with them along with the little girl her gift saves.  And I can't hold back the tears.

 My daughter once told me that she wanted to someday be a Mom just like the one I am.  The truth is, I want to be a Mom just like my American girl, my doll.