Piggybackin'

She's the little girl with the toothy grin and baby doll giggle. She's the lovable lightweight you just can't resist scooping up in your arms.

She's the 8-year-old beauty I first met when she arrived to the orphanage at the young age of four, her mom on her deathbed, preparing to leave behind seven young children in the wake of cancer's sting. She's the brave survivor who suddenly lost her oldest sister, her surrogate mom, in a tragic accident on New Year's eve nearly two years ago.

She's an orphan two times over, and while the scars speak through those tender eyes, life has not yet left them; She is a child of hope. She is a child of joy. And of laughter. And of endless love and smiles. She's my Gaby girl.

I encountered her on the Ranch just after mass a pair of Saturdays ago, and as she approached me and clung to my left leg, I swooped her up in my arms and squeezed her tight, just as I always do. And as I held her close, I felt my heart beat just a little quicker. That Gaby girl, she has such a way of doing that. And it makes my soul smile.

"Where are you going, Jenna?" she asks in her sweet, high-pitched voice. Well, I wasn't headed in her same direction, but love has a way of changing your footsteps. So I swooped her up once again, but this time on my shoulders. It was time to piggyback her to her "hogar," where I would drop her off for the night before returning to be with my godson.

The walk was a mere 10 minutes in length, but its memory has resonated in my spirit for over two weeks now. With Gaby on my shoulders, her arms and legs locked around my neck, and her lively spirit holding me up, we pickyback'd it together on the moonlit evening stroll. It was all child's play: I'd pretend to steer off the path, she'd tip over, and I'd make sure to steady her again. I'd twirl her around once, and her giggle would echo back twice or three times. I'd pick up the pace and "giddy-up" like a horse, and she would completely lose it in hearty laughter. Though it was dark, my heart could see her smile. And in those 10 moments, I was the happiest I'd been all week.

In those 10 moments, little Gaby filled the holes of my heart needing the innocence of a child's love. In those 10 moments, God whispered a sweet reminder of my purpose here. In those 10 moments, all was right with the world. It's amazing what the love of a child can do to your soul.

She's my Gaby girl. And I probably don't need to mention that she stole my heart over four years ago and still holds on tight to it each and every day. She's my Gaby girl, and I'd piggyback with her any day, to all my heart's content.