At some point in your life, you may become responsible for a
child that is not yours: maybe as an aunt/uncle, a sponsor, a babysitter, a
godparent, or a teacher. I am all of those. But the one I particularly want to
talk about today is the challenge, but also the honor of being a Godparent.
I have 3 Godchildren: the child of a random person I met at church once; the
son of my cousin; and the daughter of my best friend .
Although I supposedly play the same roles in the lives of all these 3 kids, the
way I go about it is completely different. The relationship I have with each of
them is unique.
Let me start with my oldest Godchild who is about 10 years
old. I met him accidentally in a Village called Taza, in southern Ethiopia.
During Mass celebration, his mother came to me and asked me to be her son’s
Godmother. I had never met her before so I was surprised. But I was also
touched and honored at the same time. As I am not from that village, I had to remind her that I was not going to be able to visit this child or even have any
contact with him (she had no access to internet or phone). But she said: “you
keep him in your prayers, and God will do the rest”. Her devotion affected me deeply and that's when I discovered the power of
faith.
The Christening mass was beautiful. She named her son Beruk, meaning blessed. Today, I often
find myself praying for him. I’ve never seen him after his baptism, and I have
no way of finding him unless I go back to Taza, but Beruk is always in my
mind, and I truly hope that my prayers are reaching him. The church says: “the role of a Godparent is mainly
to assist the person in Christian initiation”, which I did at his Christening
day. However, it also says: “to have a continuous presence as a Christian model
of faith for the child”, and this I am lacking. I hope that one day I will be
able to go back to Taza and see how grown Beruk has become.
My 2nd Godson is 6 years old. He’s the cutest kid I know – and I’m not just
saying that because he’s my Godchild – he is really the cutest. ßLook at him (this is when he was 3). His mom is my cousin (but we
grew up as sisters). So in a way, my Godson is also my nephew. And that comes
with double responsibility—and double the joy.
As an aunt/Godmother, I want to make sure that he gets
EVERYTHING he needs in life. From good grades, to skills in sports, art and
music, to a nice and strong personality. So far, so good. He makes me proud on
every level. And that’s why I say the joy is elevated. The challenge however, is
that we live far apart, hence, I can only talk to him via phone/Skype. It breaks my
heart not to play with him or talk to him directly. But thanks to technology,
we are building a relationship that will enable us to pick up right where we
left off.
Last, my Goddaughter (my best friend's child). She is the youngest of
all my Godchildren. She is only one year old, but I feel like I’ve known her
for many years. What amazes me is that
in reality, I barely know her (as I only saw her for a month), but the love I
have for her surpasses my understanding. Every time I hear her voice or see
pictures/videos of her, my heart hops. Of course, I understand that the first
reason for that is simply that she is my close-friend’s daughter. So even if she had given birth to an
ogre, I’d love that baby tenderly. Yet, there is another reason. When you comprehend the role that you have to play for
this child as a Godmother, you soon start to develop something more than simply
caring and loving her… It’s more of a noble responsibility.
As my Goddaughter grows older, I have (and want) to be some
type of role model to her. I may have to help her with decisions related to religious
choices; help her with school choices (if she needs more advice than what her
parents would give her). I also simply have to be there for her whenever she
needs me; as the church says: “to be part of the godchild's life for the
remaining of his/her life”. This is definitely hard. First of all because we
live on different continents, and second
because being part of someone’s life comprises a tremendous amount of discipline
and faith on both parties.
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| Image from http://www.pagecovers.com/view_cover/i_love_my_godchild.html |
“The greatest gifts that a godparent can give to a child are
love and prayers”, these I give. What is missing is my physical presence in the kids' lives. The 'be' in Be, Pray, Love. If airplanes were faster and cheaper, I’d
be a much better Godparent… Maybe one day; for now, I just pray and Love.
The quotes used in this post were taken from: http://www.catholicdoors.com/courses/godpar.htm
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