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 In the name of Jesus. Amen. Six. Six is an imperfect number. Three sixes, well everyone knows that's bad. Everyone knows about seven – seven is God's number! Six just doesn't cut it. It's just not perfect.
Except today. Six is just perfect to me today. Sophia turns six years old today. She wasn't supposed to be one – let alone six. If she makes it to seven, that'll be perfect too. But, today, six will work just fine.
She's like every six year old. She's lost a few teeth. She plays tee-ball and graduated from Kindergarten.
But, unlike most six year-olds, she has a barge named after her. Some people wait their whole lives and never get a ship named after them! Sophia's already been there and done that...
Now Sophia won't know she turned six. She doesn't get that sort of thing. She doesn't need a birthday to be happy anyway. She's happy all the time!
To Sophia, every day seems like her birthday – or some special day – for her to explore the world. Every day is gift from God for her shimmy along the couch, walking from chair to chair, or an opportunity to give her hand to someone walking by. Take her hand and she's on her way! That's the way she rolls – sometimes literally – through her life.
Most times, she scoots along the ground, singing. She hums to herself when she's happy.
“Hmm. Hmm. Hmm hmm Hmm Hmm.” She goes along with a song – singing and making music in her heart to the Lord. Not in words, but in hums. 
She hasn’t a care in a world. How could she not? She has a Father who loved her in the giving up of His Son, who gave her parents, brothers, friends, teachers, a cat, clothing, shoes, house, home, and now even a dog.
From humming, she goes to laughter. Short bursts – from her insides. Contagious, “Heh heh heh.” After She starts without knowing it, you will be laughing too. With you laughing, she laughs all the more. The joy of the Lord is her strength!
She still loves Dora the Explorer. Every television should have it on! If you pass, she'll hand the remote to you. Didn't you know that she was the center of your universe? You should tend to her needs before your own!
She'd rather have M&M mini's than birthday cake. Wouldn’t you? She likes what she likes.
And she really likes animals. Merlin, the cat, is her favorite toy. Hmm hmm. Yank yank on the cat's tail. We tell her to stop and are certain that she knows better. But the good she wants to do, she doesn't do. And the thing she really wants to do – like pull on that fluffy tail, she does.
But the dog... the Sophia and the dog seem to have issues. Mikey waits and watches her play with plastic toys. Snatches them away. She pursues and takes her toy back. He waits…and takes the toy again. Is it stealing when she is having such fun? Must not be! She hums and laughs as she goes about life with her new four-legged friend.
She'll probably never have a boyfriend, children, be a doctor, or a scientist. I don't think she'll care. She's our very special trisomy 9q, partial monosomy 21q girl. Just two of those diagnosed in all the world – one boy in Sweden and our Sophia!
Will she never do those things? I don't know. Do you? The Lord does. He's the one who made her, washed her sins away in the baptismal font, feeds her the Word, and gives her the songs she sings – in every hum and heh.
He's even taught her to fold her hands to pray! To Jesus alone... the Lord who gives her gifts and makes even six just perfect today. “Hmm hmm Hmm.” In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Edited on: July 09th, 2008 12:26 pm
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