Jesus’ Little Toy

By Michelle P., on mission in Romania

Every Wednesday we take the bus to a little village near Deva called Mintia. One of the people we visit in Mintia is a little girl named Vanessa. Vanessa is 8 years old and was born without kneecaps so she is only able to walk on her knees. Vanessa doesn’t have many friends because she is unable to play outside and can sometimes be rather difficult to play with. 

One week when I was playing with Vanessa, she wanted really badly to play with makeup and hair on one of her papusa (dolls). After we were playing with her doll, she asked if she could do my hair and makeup. I had just seen the makeup and hair she had done on her papusa so I knew it was going to look rather wild, but I told her yes. She got so incredibly excited and couldn’t believe I had actually agreed to it. But in this moment I wasn’t scared of looking crazy, I just wanted to love Vanessa in this way. Let’s just say she definitely went wild on the make up! I looked crazy, but to Vanessa I couldn’t have been more beautiful. She was so overjoyed with what she had done and was so happy that I had let her do it. 

After the situation, I was talking to my sister in community, Mary, about the whole thing and she said this moment and our mission in general reminds her of this quote by St Therese of Lisieux: “For some time I had been accustomed to offer myself as a plaything to the Child Jesus. I told Him not to treat me like an expensive toy which children look at but dare not touch. I was a cheap little ball which He could fling on the ground or kick or pierce or leave neglected in a corner or even press to His heart if it gave him pleasure. To put it in a nutshell, I longed to amuse the little Jesus and offer myself to His childish whims.” We don’t need to do much to please the Child Jesus. All he wants is just us, not all our merits or what we can do for him, he just wants us and for us to allow ourselves to be used by Him in the way He sees best. It really is as simple as that!