Learning from the innocence of children

The other night my youngest two (ages 7 & 8) and I made a quick trip to Walmart.  Just outside the front doors, seated facing towards the store, was a woman.  She was leaning against a post and in her arms was a child wrapped in blankets.  The little girl looked to be a bit younger than my two.  As I hurried past them, my girls stopped to read the sign she was holding.  Just as the girls came into the store with me another woman, exiting Walmart, handed the woman and her child a gallon of milk.  Before we began to shop the girls wanted to know who the woman and child were, what they were doing out there on a cold night, why the other lady gave her milk, etc.  What an opportunity this was for a couple of life lessons.  (Ironically, our pastor had talked about taking care of the least and the lost just the week before this.)  The thing is, the lesson didn't need to be learned by my girls, it needed to be learned by me.

As I was trying to get my words together to answer their questions.  My middle one said, "Momma, she has 5 children."  As I was hurrying along, my girls were reading the sign the woman held.  As I was hurrying along, they were trying to understand this woman and her situation.  As I was hurrying along, my children were empathizing with the woman and her child.  My thoughts were nowhere as noble, genuine or kind.

Seeing the concern from them, we talked a little about what she might need most and determined we could at least purchase a loaf of bread for her and her child.  It was such a small item, yet as my middle one handed it to the woman, upon exiting the store, the woman offered her God's blessings.  The sincere thankfulness and humbled look in her eyes is something I hope I will not soon forget.

That night as we said prayers before bedtime, my youngest prayed for the woman and child.  My oldest heard the story that evening as well, and she, too, went to sleep with a feeling of unease for this poor family.

Reflecting now, I wonder what if that woman had been me?  How would I have felt with people, like myself, rushing past in an attempt not to see?  How would I have felt being in the woman's situation, asking for help, with few, if any, bothering to listen, much less provide assistance?

It leads me to question further.  What can I learn from my children in this?  Somehow, they understand what Jesus said when he told us to take care of the lost and the least.  Yet, I, as the adult and their mom, somehow didn't have the sense of this.

As a result, we'll be looking for opportunities as a family to care for others this year.  Not just family and friends, but also strangers...

In what ways are you already doing your part to give to the least and the lost?  In what ways can you do more?  I'd love to hear your suggestions....

In Him,
Beth