Lilah Faith

Interestingly, Lilah’s namesake was also conceived years before she came on the scene. Main character, Lila,( no “H”) is the only name that I didn’t choose. As I was typing one day, the letters just spilled out. I had never known a Lila, the name not familiar to me.

Lilah means dark-haired beauty. Aptly fitting for our little one-year-old, born with eye-liner and no need for mascara. I attended her textbook birth. What happened after she emerged took her parents and me by surprise. After she was cozy and warm on her mama’s chest, the doctors and nurses hit the lights and left the room.

All of a sudden, this tiny creature who had been all cozy and quiet began to SCREAM. Like a lot. I left the room to give mom and dad time alone. She kept screaming, loudly. I walked all the way to the end of the ward, took a trip down the elevator and came back up. Still screaming, I could hear her through the door, down the hall and around the corner. I made my way back to the room, her parents were visibly perplexed. I was internally worried. This kid came in the world roaring like a lion, what more was to come? But then she stopped, as quickly as she had begun.

It was a first dawn peek into her little soul. Now, at one, she’s unusually confident. Studying an adult until they look away, seemingly knowing their secrets. She is vocal. She still goes from one to one hundred, her voice still breaks the dawn.

A blend of both sisters, the boss of the two. Lean and long, hilarious and loving. She loves to worship, both hands raised at the foot of the stage. Jazz, hip-hop, slow-fast, the style doesn’t matter: ‘arms up, I gotta praise.’

I can see her down the lane. A head taller and a stride longer than the rest. Her dark hair blowing behind her as she sets the pace, shouting over her shoulder for the rest to follow.

She will be the burr under saddles, the kid who asks the hard questions. She will not settle for status quo, vision will light her path. I see her crying loudly, entering the pain of others, then abruptly stopping to dry tears, pointing to the ONE. Her Mama’s bestie and her Dads confidant. Her sister’s cheerleader and her Pa and Jiji’s traveling companion in their old age!