The Heart of a Child

We have just had a time with our children that makes us proud to be their Mom and Dad!

It all started a couple weeks ago when Daniel came home from school, took off his coat & shoes, went to his bedroom and promptly came out with one of his superhero costumes. He quickly informed me that "we need to send this to the kids in Africa who don't have any toys". That soft part in my heart melted as he said those words to me. That he would care enough about the boys and girls in Africa (the only country's name that he knows that is poor) to run to his room, pick out one of his favored toys and be willing to give it away - wow! I had to explain that we can't send them a superhero costume, but that we can certainly buy some toys to send. He was satisfied with that.

Then at the last minute on Friday morning, Daniel reminded me that this was the last day to bring the gifts to school for the kids in Africa. Again, I had to redirect him and gently let him know that it was okay. We could buy some things this weekend and it wouldn't be too late. Once again he was satisfied with that. His urgency and enthusiasm confirmed in me that this was something our family had to make a priority.

Yesterday we went shopping with our children to buy enough gifts to fill two shoe boxes, one for a boy Daniel's age and one for a girl Rebecca's age. We shopped for toys, toiletries and some school supplies letting the kids each pick out things for "their" box. After a few reminders that "we aren't shopping for us" we managed to get the things we wanted. These shoe boxes will be shipped off in the next week or so to Operation Christmas Child and from there they will be given to a boy and a girl who don't have anything. We are trying to instill in our children what it means to give selflessly, knowing they won't get anything tangible in return.

This evening, we put the things into the shoe boxes. It took a bit of rearranging but everything fit! Phew!!! Both of our kids were very protective of "their" box. Then, Jeremy found a video clip on-line from Samaritan's Purse (Operation Christmas Child) and we showed it to the children (we've tried to include it at the end of this post - hope it works!). Part way through the video, Daniel was making some noises. I asked him if he was okay and he said, "It's okay. I'm crying because it feels good!" Wow!!! We stopped the video and took a moment to clarify what he meant. He let us know that he was fine. It made him feel good knowing that we are sending toys to a boy and a girl that don't have any. What a sensitive heart! After we finished the video clip we prayed over the boxes and asked Jesus to take these gifts safely to the boy and girl; that Jesus would bless the gifts and the children who would receive them. It was a wonderful bonding time as a family.

If you would like more information about Samaritan's Purse / Operation Christmas Child please visit http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/.