I saw her as I was walking down a lonely side street to get out of the sun. She was wearing a dress and shoes that declared her position in Pattaya. It was a dress that featured her features and her walk ensured that she would turn heads. Then she saw Annabelle strapped to my chest in the baby bjourn screaming in delight while she waved her legs and arms. The young lady became unguarded. She stopped and grabbed Annabelle’s hands, touched her face, asked me all about her, and for a moment, all her baggage was off. She was a woman warmed by the ramblings of an innocent baby girl.
I passed the same bar about 10 times a day as I went up and down the beach of Pattaya with Annabelle and Barrett. All the women would clap and cheer for Annabelle while departing their stools to get a touch of her drooled laced hands. They chatted to her in Thai and I answered the same questions that always came up about her age, what she ate, and if she was my only child. Annabelle was always game for the attention and squealed with glee as they dotted on her. All the men stayed back and were ignored…if just for a moment. We were never solicited by vendors, we were never accosted by people wanting us to buy suits, we were always just greeted with wide grins and sparkling eyes.
Barrett and I talked about this one night. I told him how much had changed for me since last year when I was there…alone and pregnant. I was never alone this year. No matter where the Thai person was in life, they had time for Annabelle and me. For a brief moment they were young and happy again. Some took that chance to dance with her, others just took her…the elevator man even gave her a salute and hand shake each time we past him. Barrett responded by saying how he was wondering how we could make an impact for the gospel while we were there and seeing the people react to Annabelle was his answer. Family. A family that loves each other breaks down barriers. For these torn souls, seeing Annabelle being happy in life was a salve for the heart.
So we passed her to the massage ladies, to the ladies getting off their stools, and to the front desk people who are usually ignored or yelled at by foreigners. Her joy allowed us to speak to people that were unreachable to us before. For us, Annabelle has opened up our eyes to how to reach hurting souls. How to see them as images of our Lord once again. Our disgust turned to a desire to bring them the hope of the gospel of Christ, to have their pain washed away forever…not just for moment in time while holding a picture of innocence they had forgotten. Oh for them to have faith like a child and come to Jesus.
Thank you Jesus for using a little girl to remind us of big truths.