But it is only a movie...

or is it? 

Sigh!

Lizzie is a fighter, a determined, brave, courageous, strong willed, hard headed fighter.  She rolls with the punches and like the Energi*er Bunny, just keeps on keeping on. 

Lizzie was listed as a "special needs" child because of her hands and feet.

Well, let me tell ya, she is special all right!!  Her hands and feet are beautifully made and as far as they go - she has NO need!

At VBS recently, a little girl who was playing with Lizzie noticed her hands and asked Lizzie what was wrong with them.  I was hovering standing near by and wanted with all my motherly might to jump right in and answer for my baby girl - but - I - waited - and I am glad I did.  My beautiful child simply looked at the other little girl and said, "there isn't anything wrong with them.  I was just born that way."  She then looked up at me and asked, "Right Momma?"
 
Right baby girl, so very, very right!

and then she just kept on keeping on!

The other night before bed, I was clipping the girls' finger nails when Em asked if I could clip her toe nails as well.  When I was done with Em, she looked at Lizzie's feet and said, "Wow, Liz, you don't have toe nails on 2 of your toes!" 

Lizzie looked down and surprised, said, "WOW, you are right Emmeline!" 

That sweet questioning face looked up and me and honestly y'all, all I could come up with was, "Well, that is 2 less toe nails that I have to clip!"

I held my breath for a moment and waited for a reaction.

In true Lizzie style, she just laughed and said, "Yeah!  That's right!  Cool!"

That's my girl!

She hopped into bed, ready for sweet dreams and happy cause Momma only had to clip 3 toe nails on her foot!

She just kept on keeping on!

However, there is one thing that was NOT listed as a "special need" for my Lizzie and that need is something that, every now and again, she struggles with - we struggle with. 

That need is something that she has a harder time just rolling with and it breaks my heart when I see her struggle - cause Lizzie just hardly ever struggles.

This need is a need of the heart and it is not always evident but it is always there.  We only see it every once in a while but when we do, the tears flow - from both of us and it normally surfaces when we watch movies.

Lizzie (like me) can be hard to watch movies with.  She does not like sad movies, me either, but she just does not want to watch any movie that has any part in it that is sad.  I do try and help her with this by not making her watch the movies that she thinks are sad but there are times when it is hard to get around.

Last night we watched Toy Story 3.  We had seen it last summer and I cried but Lizzie seemed unaffected so we watched it again, only this time, my baby girl was affected, very affected and that special need was so completely evident.  

Toward the end of the movie as Andy was going off to College, I looked next to me and there sat my very strong, very courageous baby girl with silent tears streaming down her face.

It - broke - my - heart!

Toy Story is all about abandonment and loss and it was just too much for my Lizzie. 

I was crying too but this kind of sadness from a 5 year old is tough. 

The good part is that once she starts crying, we talk, really talk and she knows that it is ok to be sad every now and again and that her momma is sad for her sometimes too and that together, we can handle the sadness and celebrate the happiness.

Cause that is how my Lizzie rolls!

The girl makes lemonade out of lemons and that is how I know that she will be ok - better than ok!  My baby girl is gonna rock this world and even though our happiness together came as a result of a great sadness, she knows that we are here for her - always.

So, we snuggled together all night last night and I held her a little closer and watched her sleep a little longer and prayed that the Lord would continue to comfort her heart and help that beautiful heart to heal. 

My Lizzie is strong and brave and courageous and has a huge heart and while that heart might need to heal, she has an amazing capacity to love and to show compassion and to laugh and to just keep on keeping on!

We will keep watching movies but we will also keep the conversation going and she will know that it is ok to feel that sadness and that we will love her through the happy and the sad - FOREVER!

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