When I was about eight years old,I started to call myself Essie 4 ever!

If anyone asked why,I told them that it was because my soul was going to live on even after I died.

Dad said that if a person made a memorable impact on the world,then their soul would certainly live on forever.

However, he said that even if a person wasn’t rich, famous, popular or well known, then the same could still be true.

As long as you lived a good, upright life and had faith in God, then your soul would live on in heaven forever, regardless of your status on earth.
That helped me grasp the true meaning of the word forever.
So for my 9th birthday,my father gave me a gold heart locket engraved with the words “Essie 4 ever!” on it.

Inside, a message was written.”For my little miracle. May your soul live on forever, in heaven and on earth.”