Angel in the Waters

I was gifted this book by my mother when I was pregnant for the first time.  The book follows the progression of a pregnancy through the perspective of the growing life. The endearing way the body changes are narrated throughout the development was fun to read during pregnancy.  But the fruits of this book went beyond pregnancy.  I’ve read this book to my son while pregnant with his brother. He was able to watch the growing baby, and we were able to point out what stage the baby was in with each passing week. Yet, the story goes beyond the development of the fetus. As my son grew, I was able to use the lessons of this book on a deeper level to help him navigate a major life change.  

The story follows a dialogue between the child and his angel. The angel is there as a guide and a friend. One day, the baby finds that there is not a lot of room left and intuitively understands something is happening.  The angel explains he will go to a new world, not like this one. When the time comes for birth, the experience is unfamiliar and scary for the baby. He can no longer hear his angel.  Once, when it was quiet, the angel visited him for one last word of wisdom. In a heart-wrenching dialogue, the little newborn tells his angel this world is too big.  The angel, once again, provides reassurance that he won’t feel this way forever. He will adapt and feel more at home in this world, but also foretells going to a new world outside of this one, alluding to eternal life after death.   The story concludes a few months into the baby’s life. The tone of the narration reads with more confidence and even joy in his new world.  He still fondly remembers the life he left behind in the womb, but he’s found beauty in the world he is in now. Through everything, he knows his angel is with him. 

This past August, my new Kindergartener faced a major change in his little world.  He came home from school that first day crying to return to his Pre-K classroom.  No amount of reasoning or reassurance that those friends he had in Pre-K were no longer there would help him.  Finally, I brought out this book. We read through it, and I pointed out to him the changes the baby was experiencing.  He was growing just like this baby in the book. He had outgrown his pre-K classroom, and he needed to move on to bigger things.  We discussed how the baby felt about these changes. He didn’t want to go, and he missed what he had in his old life, but he adapted.  By the time we reached the end of the book, our conversation naturally led to other times in his life when he didn’t want the new changes, but they ended up being good.  We talked about his first week in the Pre-K class, he now misses, and he wanted to go back to his old daycare. Every big change in his life has been met with a sense of uncertainty and a desire to go back. But when he pushes forward with the confidence found in his faith, he can adapt and even find joy in any circumstance.