Compassion

I always hear other parents tell stories of how their children opted out on birthday gifts of parties to help a local charity.  Or young children feeding the poor on thanksgiving day with their parents.  I always wondered when Hannah would develop compassion for the unfortunate ones.  Gabe and I always tell her- eat your dinner, there are kids starving and would love a fresh hot meal.  Or be thankful you have 10 pairs of shoes to choose from, there are kids that only have one pair...with holes.  My favorite one- no, I am not going to buy you that toy because you have tons of toys and there are girls who only have one toy, just one!  As we lecture her I feel like our words are meaningless to her.  She just stares at us and changes her demeanor probably because she thinks she's in trouble.

Finally, she strikes an interest in Gabes and I conversation about sending a Christmas gift to a boy we sponsor in Africa.  I was shocked when she stopped coloring and sat next to me and started to ask why I would want to buy a cow as a Christmas present.  She started to look at each page in the catalog I received from the organization we sponsor.  She came across a graphic article of a boy on a hospital bed who just got out if heart surgery.  Her face had concerned written all over it.  My heart smiled and I thought to myself...finally she has developed compassion!  I read her the article about the little boy who is her age in need of a new heart and continued to show her pictures of kids eating rice, kids playing in the streets and small kids working in the fields.  Finally, she started to realize how fortunate she is and how blessed she is to not have to work at age 5.  She wanted to see a picture of the boy we sponsor and asked why I would want to send livestock.  I explained that cows, pigs and chickens were more valuable to him than toys.  I found pictures of small kids working in the fields and read out loud about the part where they walk for miles.  She then offered other gift ideas such as, gloves, a lawn mower or a mouse pad for his computer.  She then realizes this boy may not have a computer and figured gloves would be best since he works outside in the fields. 

I can only hope with her birthday coming up that she would be thankful for what she gets.  Now I know I have a story to tell that will give her a dose of reality when she gets ungrateful.  I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because I think she will show an interest in feeding the poor with her dad and have compassion for those who do not have much.