My oldest niece, Selah, has always been a joy to me and unintentionally hilarious many times, as most children are. When she was a toddler, she would introduce herself as “Selah James Duncan James Hurd Slash.” What she meant was that her name is Selah James Duncan/Hurd, though now she has been adopted by my sister’s husband and is only Selah James Hurd. She is ten years old and almost ten years younger than I am. Why am I writing about a ten-year-old? She inspires me. As does her mother, my oldest sister Elise who is raising Selah and her three younger sisters to be beautiful women of God.
Earlier this year, Elise posted a picture of my beautiful, porcelain niece with curly, dark-brown hair accompanied by the following caption:
This gorgeous soul just came to me in her pj’s that she’s outgrowing, hair still dripping from her bedtime shower, serious joy in her eyes. “Mom! I *need* to talk to you. It’s important.” Me: “What is it Selah?” Selah: “I was just talking with God while I was brushing my teeth and He told me I’m going to be a missionary when I grow up!… And not just then. *Now.* Life is too short to wait, you know!” Me: “Really? Awesome! Did He say where?” Selah (nodding with confident joy): “Yep. America.” #BringIt #1000gifts #ThisIsWealth
I was brought to tears. I’m not a big crier, but this had me bawling like an infant. As I read that, I thought, “What am I doing? Life is too short to take even a moment for granted.” Then I remembered the wonderful things Selah has done for this world. I was convicted. Selah, a young girl, is more mature than I am in a lot of ways. Selah helps her mother with looking after her little sisters and after her grandpa. For as long as I can remember, she has always wanted to help with everything (even before she was actually helpful).
Selah’s Life inspires me. Her parents have sponsored children through Compassion International and Selah never forgets to pray for them in her nightly prayers. But more than that, Selah astounds me with her generosity. When she was only six years old, Selah wanted to become a sponsor to a child. So she thought of this idea, “By a Kid for a Kid,” where she created scrapbook-like pictures and sold enough of them to begin sponsoring a child–and she has been able to maintain her role as a sponsor by dedicating the money she receives from chores and fundraisers to her sponsor child.
The Christmas of 2013, Selah decided she wanted to clothe orphans. So what did she do? She created masterpieces and sold them online. She raised enough money via her paintings that she clothed not one, but two orphanages (yes, orphanages, not orphans!) in India, and donated over half a thousand dollars to help bring relief to those suffering in the Philippines after Super Typhoon Haiyan.
Now I know why the devil fought so hard to kill her. Just look at the impression she has made on the world before even hitting double digits. I am so thankful that my sister did not abort Selah as originally planned.
However, in 2005 (the year Selah was born), according to the Guttmacher Institute, there were 1.21 million abortions in the United States alone. The staggering statistic becomes even more earth-shaking when I think about the fact that if only 1% of those unborn babies had the same effect as Selah has had then 24,200 orphanages would have received clothes and the Philippines would have been flooded with $6,715,500 in relief funds.
The devil fought to kill Selah because he knew how powerful she would be–he killed 1.21 million other American babies because he knew how powerful they could be. But God helped Elise overcome her struggles and even used Selah as motivation for her to get her life in order. Elise has an incredible story and inspires me daily. Selah is following in her footsteps. I’m making my goal to become inspiring to those around me by bringing glory to God. What are you going to do with your Life?
