She Who Brings Light–10 Days of Inspiration (guest post)

A little over 16 years ago I met one of the most inspirational people in my life. On June 5, 2002 I watched report after report on the television about a young girl who had been kidnapped. This young girl was a beautiful harpist and radiated joy in her family. As I watched the news reports I couldn’t help but transport myself into the shoes of her mother: the shock she must have felt when she saw that her daughter, who brought their family so much light, had been snatched from their home. And yet, she was gone and no one knew where exactly she had been taken.

The most amazing thing happened as I followed the story of Elizabeth Smart. I watched as her parents stoically requested the aid of the community and the media to find their special daughter. They did not appear broken. They did not express their anger in an unhealthy way through the channels afforded to them. They were determined to find Elizabeth. And nine months later she was returned to her family.

I will not pretend to know the family intimately, nor will I claim a perfect knowledge of all the proceedings and events that occurred during Elizabeth Smart’s captivity and rescue. But, I will claim a perfect knowledge of how I felt that day when I first learned of her abduction.

There I was watching the screen in the hospital room as I sat in my bed after having given birth to my beautiful, perfect, healthy little baby: my second daughter, Kate. I was filled with dread that she was born into such a dark world. A world mildly filled with hatred, fear, prejudice, and pain. A world greatly absorbed in obscene atrocities and devastation in the extreme. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to wish that Kate had not been given to me. I knew that the world would only get worse, but I knew that my precious daughter had been given to me for a purpose: to bring light to this blackened world.I have seven children. Yes, seven wonderful, energetic, musical children. Can you imagine how much chaos, catastrophe, and cacophony there is in my house on any given day? And yet, when Kate goes to camp during the summer, or spends the weekend with her cousins, my house is almost silent. She is the source of energy and light for our family, and we all feel her absence. Too often I remark to a friend that Kate is who keeps me sane.There was a time when she was five and I set up a camera to record her without her knowledge. Kate was sitting at the kitchen table working on a puzzle and singing “John Jacob Jingle-heimer Schmidt.” Without a care in the world, she belted it out at the top of her lungs. (See the video HERE.) And this has been her pattern throughout her life: live large, and live true. She doesn’t hide who she is, and although she may feel vulnerable, she doesn’t hold back.When Kate was younger, she was the first to approach a new child on the playground and ask, “Can we be friends?” She was the child who created the imaginary games the other children played. She was the girl who easily forgave any hurt. And she was the girl who always willingly shared with those around her. She sought out the lonely, the brokenhearted, the afraid, the quiet, and the friendless (and she still does!).

As I have watched her grow into the beautiful young woman she is today, I have marveled at her positive attitude and ability to be grounded but not weighed down. And, I admire her for that. I hope to one day be like my Kate, who likes to draw outside of the grid lines because they are “too limiting;” who creates beauty with pen, pencil, marker, paint, sand, shaving cream, ukulele, guitar, voice, just about anything; who is best friends with everyone; who has faults but does not succumb to them and wallow in despair;who knows who she is and does not shy away from standing up for what is right even if that means she may get punched in the face.Kate inspires me to embrace my faults, my frailties, my imperfections. She inspires me to be vulnerable and share who I am with others because as I walk in her shoes, even for a small moment, I see how she connects with those around her and does it all without really trying. Kate is light, life, and love. AND, she is my daughter. When I grow up, I hope she will see how she has inspired me.

About the author: Marisa Hill is a mother of seven children who loves to read, bullet journal, play the piano, and go to all of the many dance, choir, and musical performances of her children.