A Giving Heart

Who would've thought a small orange box would bring me so much joy today?  Noah's been talking about Unicef for a couple days now.  He's had his box on the counter and has been making plans to go "trick-or-treating" to collect for them.  This afternoon, he was reading all these facts to me about where the money goes when you give to their organization.

He was ready to go door to door right then, but I had to halt him for another day, as we were headed out to my nephew's birthday party and already running late.  I offered that he could bring it with us and see what he could collect from family.  This continued our conversation to the truck about the program and the people they help.

After practicing with me for a few minutes on his speech, he paused, really concentrating on the different levels.  One of the highest levels provides a water pump for a whole community.  This really bothered him, and we discussed how differently some people live in the world and how so many do without the things we often take for granted.  He noticed two logos on the box and wondered how much they gave to be on there.  It thrilled him when I said they probably gave enough for many, many water pumps.

The sweetest part of our conversation came at the end.  He mentioned how he really wanted to fill his box and he was nearly half way there.  His goal was to be able to ask his teacher for a second one and he told about some other kids that already done that.  He looked at me and said, "Mom, doesn't that just fill your heart, with joy?  ...to know that with just a box of change you can help someone?"

With tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, I agreed.  My heart was already filled with joy in seeing him process this knowledge and learn such a great life lesson from it.  I'm blessed beyond measure to know that both my boys had and have a heart of gold and a yearning to help others in need.

It is one of my favorite parts of being a parent - and one of the scariest - to know that the future is in our hands.  How we raise our children, and the lessons we take the time to teach, mold them into the people they'll grow to be.  We can change the world, one child at a time.  I can't wait to see the positive changes Noah will help to provide.