No one has ever become poor by giving. — Anne Frank
I was blessed on Easter Sunday to be a part of an event, in which it was made possible to brighten the lives of twenty-seven children, and their families. There is nothing more uplifting in this world, than to put a smile on the face of a few kids.
I enlisted the help of my family, and specifically my nieces. The simple truth is, while helping to raise them for the last fifteen years, there were often times where I sweated the holidays. I have done my best to shelter them from the fact that they for most of their lives, have lived below the poverty line. Sure it was tough, and at times we got very creative, but in the end it always worked out, their Christmas stockings, and Easter baskets were always filled.
Now I want them to learn, that while their lives at times seem tough, there are those out there who definitely have it a lot harder. I also wanted them to learn that you don’t always have to give money to help out those in need, in fact, they could give their time, which is a much more valuable commodity.
I am happy they enjoyed themselves, and I am happy, that they got to participate in an event that turned out to be such a blessing for all those who participated. Their wasn’t a child in that place who wasn’t smiling from ear to ear.
I am currently working with my youngest niece, I have helped her to start her own gratitude journal which she emails to me daily, and I wanted to share some of her thoughts.
“I am grateful for meeting that one 9 year old boy that told his life story to me, I felt special that he opened up to me. It seemed like I was the only person he could open up to, with the way he talked about his life.”
The little boy she wrote about, sat down to get his face painted, and it was quite apparent he wasn’t real happy. Hanna tried to engage him in conversation, and at first he was reluctant, and then all of a sudden he just opened up.
He told her he hated Easter. One reason was because he usually didn’t get anything, another reason was because it always reminded him that he didn’t really know his father. He hadn’t seen his father in years, and the holidays were especially tough since it reminded him how unloved he felt, when his father never called.
This is something Hanna has experience with as well, her own father rarely if ever calls, and told her and her sister the other day, that the best thing he ever did for them, was not being involved in their lives.
Before it was all over, Hanna made the little boy happy. He was able to tell someone the emptiness and pain he felt, and someone took the time to listen. Hanna may not know it now, but because of her own experiences in life, God had prepared her just for that moment. Who knows what kind of impact she may have had on him. Who knows what kind of impact we all had on those children yesterday. We may not have saved any lives, we may not have saved any souls, but what we did do, was brighten the lives of a few people, even if only for a couple of hours.
