Compassion from the Heart

No--this is not Katrina; although, the gift of compassion does ring out in stories from the last many days. We clearly have been given the opportunity to prove our humanity and people from around the world are passing that test.

But this is a story from a few days before Katrina and tells of the purity and beauty of a child's heart. It's one of those times that brings tears of awe and wonder as we catch a glimpse of innocence.

We were watching that family program--you know, the nightly news. There was a vivid and heart-wrenching report on the tragedy of the Sudan--the inhumanity and violence that has occured there--women being raped and tortured, children orphaned, cruelty beyond comprehension--the opposite of the heights the human spirit can soar to as we see in the response to Katrina.

Suddenly I noticed that Casey, who had been creating Lego masterpieces, had stopped and was mezmorized by the TV--so entranced that even his breathing was noticeably slow. When it was over, he turned to us with questions we all ask ourselves but children verbalize. "Why do they want to do that?" "What's going to happen?" "Why are they so mean?" A little while later, he said "We should do something about that. What can we do?"

The next day he brought down his piggy bank and he and Ken counted out his money--all $12 in change. He decided that he wanted to send $11 to the children.

After a web search, we decided that the Samaritan's Purse organization would be a good place to send the money. Then, rather than just take the money from him and us writing a check, we made a family trip to the bank so he could experience taking his money in, handing it to the teller and getting a check to send.

The teller was wonderful. She told him what a "lovely and generous" thing he was doing and that it would come back to him and then he could do more. She put his name on the cashier's check with the notation that it was for the children of the Sudan. He was glowing from the inside out.

Finally, he wrote a short letter to Franklin Graham and the check was mailed. Now, he prays for the children every night--along with his prayers for orphans he has heard about in India and the victims of Katrina.

If ever we wonder what a child is like before being corrupted by "the world", God sometimes lets us see and remember.

I hope this has brightened your day and that hope has been restored and renewed.