Vasilisa will be 3 this summer. She might or might not be allowed to even play outside in the sun. She won't have brothers or sisters to chase around. She won't have a mommy to comfort her if she falls down and gets hurt. She almost certainly won't get to go swimming or run through a sprinkler.
But if she were your daughter, she could experience all the things God meant her to, all the things a childhood summer means to you.
She seems like just a picture and a name on a list. A word of description ("sociable").
But Vasilisa is a real little girl, a human being. She gets hungry and thirsty and lonely and hurt--and hopefully she also knows what it is to be happy and to love and be loved. She looks and sounds like she knows what it is to play, to laugh, to get attention, to talk to a friend or caregiver.
This little girl could really snuggle in your arms or chase you around growling like a monster or cheer when her daddy comes home or beg to have ice cream for dinner but settle for macaroni and cheese when you said no.
Yes, there are hundreds of little girls just like her on Reece's Rainbow. And every one of them is special. Vasilisa is special too. She's made in God's image. She's his daughter.
And she deserves to be someone else's too.
Beautiful post, Jessi. You have a gift for bringing these kids to life with your words.
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