Part 1: Every Story has a beginning...
- Soukeïna Rose
- Apr 16, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 23, 2020
She is a child of God but does not know it yet.
She is like any other normal little girl. She has a loving family with two parents and three brothers. She loves her brothers, yet often fights to find her place as she is the only daughter in this family of six.
She enjoys singing and playing outside with her friends and her dogs. She cherishes her mother’s delicious and delightful cooking and the way her father tells her his made-up and creative stories.
She likes going to mass with her family on Sundays, although she sometimes falls asleep during the homily. She takes joy in clapping her hands in rhythm with everyone else during the celebration in church.
She enjoys her catechism classes, mostly because she can learn and play with the other children. She loves her big Bible for kids, especially its appealing drawings and eye-catching colors.
She often has a hard time sharing her favorite toys or clothes, but truly wants a little sister. She is timid yet joyful and loves laughing and teasing people, so she makes a lot of friends along the way.
She loves going to school and sitting in the front row. She also dreams of becoming a pediatrician, just like her mother, because she sees her as a role model and desires to take care of others. She aspires to make her parents proud and happy.
She can be stubborn once she has made up her mind about something and does not forgive easily when hurt, but she is a genuine social butterfly. She has a happy childhood and feels like she is living a very ordinary and joyful life.
She is only six years old when the first civil war happens in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). At eight years old she is suddenly separated from her parents and sent with her brothers to live at her grandparents’ house in France. She is sad and confused, but she loves her grandma and grandpa.
She is especially fond of the way her grandmother prepares these lovely dishes, just like her mother. She is intrigued by how she prays the rosary every single day and often calls her grandma “mom” because she is like a second mother to her now.
She adapts to her new life in Normandy, appreciates her new school and friends, but she also faces racism and misses her parents. She starts going to catechism classes again, goes to church with her grandmother, and is baptized at nine years old in a quiet little church.
She sees her parents when they come to visit during the holidays. She loves their hugs and gifts, but she wants them to stay or to take her back home with them. She finishes elementary school with good grades, but even after a few years, she does not feel at home in France.
She is reunited with her parents and brothers once the situation back home is better. She is now a teenager and is growing out of her shell. She still prays and goes to mass with her family. She has her first teenage-girl best friends and love interests.
She faces a second civil war one year before she has to graduate from high-school. She has to leave her home with her little brother to go to France, once again. She is frustrated, scared for her parents, yet too familiar with the situation.
She stays with her uncle’s family and often visits her grandparents. She completes a semester in Paris and can finally go back home. She graduates from High-school and is ready to go to university in Canada. She is excited to discover what this new phase of her life will bring her.
She is His masterpiece, but does not understand it yet…
Soukeïna Rose N’Diaye
Read part 2: A glimpse of an encounter
Read part 3: Finding my identity and my purpose in His presence
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