#CourageousCaitie’s faith and the legacy it left behind

Caitlin Lucas, in a few words, loved Jesus and kiddie parties. It was logical then, in the sprawling pink-and-white venue of her party in Arlington Memorial Chapel to sing her favorite Sunday School songs in between heartfelt messages by family, friends, and supporters.

Her party may seem strange to those used to attending wakes marked with black suits and "condolences," but weeping has no place in a kid's to-do; doubly so, considering that her parents banned the word in the chapel’s premises.

"When people would congratulate us, I liked it instead of saying 'condolence.' All the struggles as a parent was worth it, to hear people say congratulations, to see that their lives are changed, because of Caitie’s life,” Feliz, her mother, said of the party-turned-debut last Saturday, April 2.

Past midnight, after supporters had their fill of seeing Caitlin in her hand-painted Veluz gown, Jay Jay and Feliz sat down for the first time in nearly nine hours to contemplate their daughter's wedding on Sunday.

“I want to have a bridal march. I want the same way that a bride would enter, and the same way that the bride would meet her parents; the same way that there would be a reception, and the same way that there would be a toast,” Feliz mused.

Being part of the wedding industry, planning Caitlin's wedding was a bittersweet affair for Jay Jay and Feliz. While they were able to fulfill their daughter's wish for a grand wedding, setting up events which their daughter would never be able to experience in her natural life stirred up painful memories of Caitlin in the hospital.

“It was difficult as a parent because you see her in pain, but you can’t endure it for her. That she needs to endure it—she needed to endure it, I cannot do it for her. I would always tell her: Caitie, I cannot eat for you. You need to be the one to eat so that your body would get better,” Feliz shared.

Caitlin’s endurance, however, made Feliz aware that sharing this experience with her daughter ensured that the pain she felt was not wasted.

“Just like her, we just need to obey and listen and trust. The pain will be there but it’s going to be faster or easier to endure,” Feliz said.

Despite the grimness of their situation, both parents shared that, in a way, the wedding was fortunate as Caitlin would be wed to the least problematic groom of all time: Jesus Christ.

Caitlin’s relationship with the Christian figure was apparent: From her videos to the testimonies made by her aunts and uncles, her spiritual maturity was evidently greater than some of the adults in her life, and that her fortitude inspired the same trait in others.

“They share stories about how Caitie moved them, touched them, helped them become a better parent, better father, better mother… There are a lot of stories of victories. It might not be in that Caitie got healed, but for other people, God (was) in them,” Jay Jay said.

TV host Edric Mendoza, who is also a family friend, shared that Caitlin—the debutante's preferred name—taught him the value of hearing “no” from his Creator.

“God doesn’t always give us the miracle we hope for on this earth, but it isn’t because He doesn’t care… Thank you, dear Caitlin, for reminding all of us to be thankful for the no,” Mendoza said.

Caitlin’s father fondly recalled that even when they offered her her pick of books and songs, she would ask for stories from the Bible and Sunday School lullabies to help her sleep. And even through the “pokes and the ouchies” of hospital life, she would still believe that she is protected by her Savior.

“We don’t know why our daughter (kept) so strong and courageous to the point that people got attracted to us. We know, we believe that it is because of Jesus in her heart that she has been able to touch lives even if she was just in the hospital,” Jay Jay said.

Artistic

But Caitlin was exceptional not only due to her faith: her artistic achievements and boundless energy also left many in awe of the little girl.

“Her teacher would say “Your daughter, I’m impressed with her painting pattern, her thinking process.’ Caitie would think about what color she wanted, how she would do it, and where she would paint it,” Jay Jay said.

Apart from not forcing any interests on her, explaining things to Caitlin in a way one would to an adult also helped the child develop the maturity that became her legacy.

“We never sugarcoat things. We just told her things bluntly: If it’s going to be painful, I told her it would be painful. And because I was honest, she trusted me more,” Feliz said.

It’s the same tactic they employed in explaining Caitlin’s death to her younger brother, Ethan.

“We don’t tell him that she’s sleeping, we tell him she’s dead already but her soul is in heaven… When the time comes that he would understand, he would be able to connect things the way it happened to Caitie,” Feliz continued.

Their final vacation took place just days before Caitlin quietly passed away in her mother's arms and was, as many things as of late, a gift from a stranger.

"A stranger just messaged me, said, ‘Could I visit you?’ I thought she was a Filipino here, but she was a local Singaporean and we talked. She was so eager to help us… she was persistent. She would text every day,” Jayjay narrated.

This help first manifested in a private tour in the Singapore Zoo, where Caitlin dragged her parents off to see her favorite animals, the giraffe, elephant, and the snake. The Singaporean woman, whom the Lucases only named as Jessie, then provided them with a grand home to stay in and a car to use when the hospital let Caitlin out for a week.

For that week, Caitlin ate her mother's cooking voraciously and tottered down Singapore's sidewalks on her own volition. Her parents would give her proper baths, let her eagerly re-watch Star Wars and Iron Man, and sculpt as she asked why Tony Stark "had no heart."

Her parents were thankful for the respite it gave Caitlin, and for the sense of normalcy it instilled in the family who have weathered hospital visits since the death of Caitlin’s grandmother in December.

“It was the best week for us,” Jay Jay said.

Spark

Even though Catie is no longer with her family, her parents said the lessons she imparted would last—but those she inspired must do their part in keeping them alive.

“Caitie sparked something in people, but each person has the responsibility to make it (into) fire because she just sparked it. Each person, and us, we need to keep that flame burning… it’s each person’s responsibility already to make that flame last forever and grow what she said,” Feliz said. —KG, GMA News