Missy | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Missy | Previous Challenge Entry
By Miriam Aneses
10/27/09
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My first impression of Missy as she walked into our church’s pre-school department twenty years ago was that of a four year old little lady. She stood no more than three feet tall, but she walked with confidence and grace, not very common traits among most four year olds I had met.

She wore a crisp, white cotton dress with a thin black patent leather belt around the waist. Her shoes matched the belt, with straps across the top of her feet, and she wore thin, white socks with a lacy frill around the top edge.

But what caught my attention as much as the air of confidence that followed her was a cherubic face with long dark brown hair that seemed to dance around her head. A row of wispy bangs covered her forehead, and long, dark eyelashes circled big brown eyes—eyes that twinkled like bright stars on a dark night. I knew right then that this would not be a crying child clinging to mommy to keep her from walking out.

As her mom and I chatted and got acquainted, Missy walked right over to a table where three other children were coloring the picture of the day. We had little yellow and green chairs, and she picked a green chair, sat down, and selected a green crayon to begin her task.

“Green is her favorite color,” mom revealed, and I nodded.

“Mommy’s leaving now,” she called from the door after a few minutes.

Missy turned to wave and then kept coloring. After a quick good-bye to her mom, I went over to see how she was doing.

The picture was of Jesus multiplying the loaves and the fish. Missy was coloring everything green. In fact, she had been working with such intensity, that I expected to see color all over the page, way beyond the lines like uncontrollable, green flames. To my surprise, the picture was neatly colored, within the lines, and even displayed varying shades of green as she had taken the time to differentiate objects with light, medium, and bold dark green—all with the same crayon!

Every week, Missy sat in a green chair and colored with a green crayon, and yet she was never predictable. She was bright, loved memorizing and singing, and made friends easily. She also loved to pray and often surprised me with her insight on what we had learned that day. Her laughter was infectious, and everyone seemed to have a grand time when she joined them during play time.

I looked forward to her return each Sunday. Her joy was unbounded. She was vivaciousness and serenity wrapped up in a distinctive package with the fluffiest ribbon you can imagine. Life walked into the room in the form of Missy. I began to understand why green is often associated with life. After all, it was Missy’s favorite color.

Within two years, I promoted Missy to the next department. I hated seeing her go, but it was time for her to move on and bring life and joy to the next place God had chosen for her.

“Is green still your favorite color?” I sometimes asked when we met outside after church.

“It’s my best, favorite color,” she would say.

When Missy was eight years old, the family moved away to another town. After a few years of staying in touch and learning about her dance recitals or her solo in the school choir, we lost touch completely.

Last year, when our church celebrated the pastor’s 80th birthday, former and present parishioners were invited to attend. It was a great reunion of people who had not seen each other for years. Among the guests were Missy’s parents.

We laughed as we recalled her first visit to Sunday school and her love of everything green.

“How is Missy?” I asked.

“Oh, she would have come, but she’s having her final wedding dress fitting today,” her mom announced.

Missy was getting married in a month. It was hard to believe. I could almost picture her in her bridal gown, with the same grace and serenity I had seen the very first day I saw her.

“You’ll love this.” her mom said.

“You should be able to guess the color of her bridesmaid’s dresses,” she continued as the smile grew on her face.

“Green?” I squealed, and we burst into laughter.

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