A Heart to Change the World

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's amazing how God continues to teach us as parents as we see things through the eyes of our children. Again, I am humbled at the opportunity God gave us to raise them and thankful for lessons we learn as parents. It was a fun day for both of my kids as they looked forward to giving out Valentine's cards to their friends. As Alisia was carefully preparing each of her cards for her friends, I sat down with Caleb to do the same. This was a new experience for him that didn't quite make sense. When we were at the store picking out which cards he wanted to get, he asked why, but his eyes quickly drew to the Star Wars cards, and thankfully I didn't have to try to explain right then and there. But I knew it had to come up again. As we sat down, I asked Caleb to pick out cards for some of the boys in his class.

Caleb: "Why do I have to pick out a card?"

Mommy: "Because tomorrow is your party, you give them a card, and they give you one."

Caleb: "But Why do I have to give them a card?"

Mommy: "So they can know they're your friend"

I guess that was enough for his curiosity because he started picking out which ones he wanted to give to his friends. Then we got to the girls.

Mommy: "Which one do you want to give to Bree?"

Caleb: "I don't know," and kindof shrugged his sholders like he was done.

Mommy: "Come on Caleb, we're almost done. Pick one out for Bree......"

He looked over his cards again, then shook his head.

Mommy: "OK, I'll just pick one then" just so we could finnish.

Caleb: "But Mommy, Bree doesn't like Star Wars. She likes princess."

I stopped and thought for a moment about his comment. I had to stop myself from just answering his whys. I really wanted to say "but you like Star Wars that's why you picked these cards. Now pick one for her." But I realized he was really thinking about his friends, not himself at all. He understood more than I did what it means to show someone that they are your friend. Instead of imposing his likes on his friends, he was sincerely thinking about what they would like. A heart like this can change the world!

How often do I actually stop thinking about myself and start thinking about what someone else will sincerely enjoy? Something to think about as I go about this Valentines Day and every day. Sharing God's love is not about us, but relating to others in a way that will reach them personally. This actually takes more time getting to know them. If we ALL thought like this when sharing God's love, our witness would be that much more effective. Bree did end up getting a Star Wars Valentines card, along with the other girls. After I thought about his comment I said "Caleb, that's so nice of you to think of what she would want. We don't have any princess cards though. Maybe she will like the card just because it's from you and that makes it special."