The heart of a child

You never know how sheltered your child is...until they are met with "how the other half lives."

Now, usually, that makes us think of the time our kid went to visit a friend who seems to have so much more stuff.  But today, it was the opposite experience.  Ben (5 1/2) needed information on a missionary for his Awana book.  He asked if I actually knew one.  So, I showed him Luke & Sarah's website, and we watched the video.  He was completely stunned.  I saw the tears come as we talked about how some of those children lived each day.  He weighed in his mind just how much he has in comparison.  He told me that he feels really lucky to live here.  He doesn't understand why those children have to live that way.  Why don't they all have nice clothes?  Why don't they all have lots of food?  Why isn't that man sleeping in a bed?  Those can't really be homes, can they Mom?

It raised a lot of questions, and now he's off playing.  But I keep catching him lost in thought, and I can tell by his face where his mind has gone.  I'm sure there are more questions coming.  I think this is a lot for his little mind to process, and over time we'll explore what he wants to know.

We've spent time at Christmas telling the boys that they should give much of what they already have away before getting new things.  But I think they really don't understand just how blessed we are in comparison to some other families.  I'm realizing more and more that it's ok to show them the harsh reality of the world.  They don't need to be a particular age to get it, and more likely, they'll get it better now than as a teenager or an adult.