A Marshmallow And A Paper Crown

A conversation which took place on the way home from church today...

Cai and Zeke simultaneously: "Awww, look mom! A man who doesn't have a home."

Zeke began frantically looking through the car trying to find something to pass along to the homeless man through the window.

An idea surfaced!

Zeke:"Rainy, give him one of your marshmallows you got in your class."
Areyna:"I don't have anymore."

Zeke:"I'll look through the diaper bag.  Maybe there's something in there."

Another idea.

Zeke:"He could have one of my crowns!"
Areyna:"A what?"
Zeke:"I got crowns in my class.  He could have one of my crowns."
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By then it was already time to move through the light.
Zeke was devastated that we couldn't provide anything for this man.
We decided that we could still be part of this man's life by praying for someone else to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in order to help this man out.

To Zeke, a marshmallow or a paper crown was a heck of a whole lot more to him than it would have been to that man holding the cardboard sign, but Zeke was willing to give those things up to a man who was in need.  He was literally BURDENED for the man!

I hope that I am as sensitive as my 7-year-old little boy.

Our gifts may not be suitable to solve the longterm problems that are around us, and maybe we don't even have the resources to be able to give at all.  But maybe it's not about that.  Maybe it's about being aware of the need.  Praying for the need to be met (whether it's met through us or someone else).  Maybe it's not about the gift itself, but the heart behind it.