Martyr or Saint

I don't really know what to say about this story. I think the little girl is very intelligent and insightful. I could see a lot of myself in her. She is very intelligent and thoughtful, but she hasn't quite matured or grown into her intelligence.

The girls reminded me of teenagers that I grew up around. I swore to myself that I would never become a teenager like that. I didn't want to be the kind of girl who said things like, "'There are some things,' Susan said, 'that a child your age doesn't know.'" That is so insensitive and snobbish. They should not start saying something about their experiences if they know that they cannot finish the story. I always felt like a pesky third wheel around teenagers like these girls.

The girl's experiences with The Church of God made me laugh. I could just envision her standing on a bucket listening in to the conversations that the teens were having on the porch. It is something that I most certainly would have done. I thought it was interesting that the girls decided to sing in Latin but I couldn't figure out the reason. I couldn't tell if they were making fun of the boys, or of they were trying to show off. At any rate, the boys had no clue what they were trying to do.

At the end of the story, the girl prayed, "Help me not to be so mean." It seems as though all of her prayers focused on God taking away her sin. Her prayers are kind of mature. I have heard a lot of children pray and most of them are just thankful for the food or their stuffed animals. They don't often feel so guilty. I wish this girl didn't have to feel so guilty. I wish she knew that Jesus is more than enough for her. She says that she could not be a saint but she could be a martyr. I think being a martyr is way more important than being a saint.

Dying for the cause of Christ is way better than trying to always be perfect. Even saints are not perfect. The girl didn't understand that yet. I think in her own childlike way, she already was a good and sweet little girl. She had faith, she prayed, and she tried to be good despite the fact that she was naturally mischievous. In the end, I think that she is a saint, because she tried her best to live for God in the little way that she knew how.