Tender Loving Care
in honor of the Shoebill, and a child who carries my name
by, Samantha Syrnich TLC

In the watery lungs of East Africa,
where the air hums with papyrus
and the silence moves like breath—
there lives a being
older than thunder,
quieter than prayer.

The Shoebill.

Not just a bird,
but a presence.

Towering at five feet tall,
with an eight-foot wingspan
and a stare carved from the bones of time,
this sentinel waits—not out of laziness—
but because it knows:
Stillness is power.

It doesn’t blink.
It doesn’t smile.
And it never misses.

Locals call the sound of its strike
a death clap.
But to me,
it would be the sound
of something sacred arriving.

If ever I stood in the warm hush
of those marshes,
and saw a Shoebill in the reeds—
waiting, unwavering—
I would not run.
I would not speak.
I would simply hold my heart in both hands,
and let the joy rise like the mist.

Because to see such a creature,
so wholly itself,
so unshaken by the world,
would remind me of who I am—
and why I was named.

Tender.
Loving.
Care.

Three things that do not need to shout.
Three things that, like the Shoebill,
wait in truth,
and strike only when it matters most.

This is not just a bird.
This is a reflection.
A messenger.
A mirror.

And there, in that same land,
a young girl —
an orphan —
carries the initials of my birth name:
T.L.C.

She holds my name now,
and I hold her in my spirit—
as if the heartbeat I once lost
now walks freely in her shoes.

To wrap her in my mama arms
would bring happy tears to my eyes.
But even now,
just the thought of her
holding my name
brings light to places
that had gone dim.

I want her safe —
forever.
Always cared for.
Never hungry.
Never harmed.
And always housed.

I want her to grow
with the strength of the Shoebill —
the grace of patience,
the dignity of silence,
and the fierce love
that lives inside every echo of my name.

TLC.
Shoebill.
Soul kin.
Daughter in spirit.

Where stillness speaks,
may love answer.

———

My Art : ‘TLC in the Marshlands”
by, Samantha Syrnich TLC

Subtitle:
Where Stillness Speaks and Love Answers

Artist’s Description

“TLC in the Marshlands”
by, Samantha Syrnich TLC
© 2025. All rights reserved.

This painting is a dream I have not yet held in my hands —
but one I carry every day in my heart.

In this vision, I am the elder TLC —
Tender Loving Care —
gently cradling a small child
who bears the same sacred initials as my birth name: T.L.C.
She lives in East Africa.
She has never known my arms,
but I have known her in spirit
from the moment I gave her my name.

I imagine this moment often:
The sun low over the wetlands,
a hush falls across the marsh,
and I, wrapped in crimson,
kneel to gather her to my chest—
not out of rescue,
but out of reunion.
Out of love that spans oceans and time.

Beside us, the Shoebill stork stands —
silent, noble, unmoved by anything but truth.
Its stillness echoes my vow:
that she be safe.
That she be full.
That she never be harmed, never be hungry,
and always have a place to call home.

Above us, faint guardian spirits press through the light —
as if even heaven is leaning in
to witness this moment of belonging.

Though this scene has not yet happened in flesh,
it lives in me as fiercely as breath.

This piece is my prayer on canvas.
My offering.
My longing.
My promise.

That one day,
I will hold her.
And she will know —
she has always been loved.

— Samantha Syrnich TLC

Hashtags for Awareness & Global Reach

TLCInTheMarshlands

ShoebillGrace

ArtForAfrica

LoveWithoutBorders

HoldThemSafe

ChildrenAreSacred

OrphanCareMatters

StillnessIsPower

TenderLovingCare

SacredBond

JusticeInGentleness

GoldenHourHope

PaintForPurpose

HeartOfAfrica

SpiritOfTheShoebill

SamanthaSyrnichTLC

OneWorldOneHeart

HealingThroughArt

ProtectTheInnocent

RaiseHerSafe

PurposeDrivenArt

LetHerThrive

GlobalMotherhood

VisionForHumanity

AngelsAmongUs

LoveIsTheLegacy

NamingHerSafe

PowerfulStillness

WaterIsLife

MarshlandMessenger

CompassionInCanvas

EchoesOfTLC

ArtOfAwareness

PeaceThroughPresence

MothersWhoWait

ChildrenOfHope

LetMeHoldHer

SeenInSpirit

DivineMotherhood

Musical Companion to “TLC in the Marshlands”

🎵 “Blessed” by Elton John
🔗 Listen on YouTube
[https://youtu.be/GuTJJoleNdw?si=1NBPhwdx_qqYFAnW]

⸻

Why I Chose This Song

As the artist behind TLC in the Marshlands, this painting is more than a visual piece—
it is a prayer. A dream. A soul-deep longing.

And when I close my eyes and imagine finally holding my namesake child in East Africa,
this is the song I hear.

“Blessed” by Elton John speaks straight into that sacred space in me—
the one that aches to hold her,
protect her,
and tell her without needing words:
“You are wanted. You are chosen. You are blessed.”

The lyrics echo what lives in the marrow of my art:

“I need you before I’m too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you’re blessed.”

I haven’t yet held her in my arms,
but she holds my name.
And I carry her in my heart
with the tenderness of a mother
and the quiet power of a promise.

This song reminds me—and anyone who sees the painting —
that love can begin before a single touch.
That some bonds are woven in spirit,
and they wait, unbroken, until the day they bloom in the real.

“Blessed” is the lullaby to the life I’ve never let go of.
It is the melody of my vow—
to one day hold her close,
and let her know she was always,
always,
loved.