Most parents believe that their kid is the most wonderful child known to man. But when someone else says it, there is something much more meaningful to the word. The other day, our daughter Hannah was said to be "wonderful" and it made me very proud.
Hannah is in 6th grade and because the junior high does not begin until 7th grade, she is still in elementary school. Some kids I'm sure hate that they are still in with kindergartners but it doesn't seem to bother Hannah one bit. Instead, I think she enjoys the responsibilities that come with it. This year, Hannah got the privilege to serve as a "Safety". Her assignment was to work with the Life Skills class (special ed). She takes the students to recess, eats lunch with them and then gets them safely to their buses at the end of the day. Its quite a task, especially when you are dealing with special needs children, but Hannah
adores them. She tells me stories all the time about them and how much they like her or how a few students are adjusting. The amazing thing is that she doesn't ever mention what is wrong with them. She just loves them and how enthusiastic they are. Even now it brings tears to my eyes because I know that there many times when I see someone with a disability and I don't always have the compassion that I should for them. To Hannah, it just doesn't seem to matter.
On Tuesday night, at open house, Hannah introduced me to Mrs. Miller, a helper in the class Hannah assists. She was an elderly, gray haired woman who was as sweet as they come. Mrs. Miller told me how wonderful Hannah was. She said "from the first day, Hannah just came into the class and went about like she had always been doing the job." Her eyes were wet as she went on and I struggled to keep my eyes dry. Hannah, with bright red cheeks, smiled from ear to ear. She was proud, too, of how well she was doing. All I could say was that "It doesn't surprise me." Which seemed very lame, but it was true. Hannah was just born with a desire to help other people (though, I wish that would include her brother). I am never surprised to hear people say things such as what Mrs. Miller said.
I know that people change with time and that sometimes we can turn away from the gifts God has placed in our lives, but I pray that the gift of "Caring" is something that Hannah never grows away from.
