Sundays are pretty planned out around our house these days, we wake up get dressed, go to church, grab lunch then go home and hang out as a family and prepare for the week at hand. This Sunday was no different except for the drive to church that my 2-year-old and I had. Becky had gone to the church early since she volunteers her time in the preschool so I was with my daughter until 11:00 when we would arrive at the church. We watched some cartoons and then got ready for our day, the normal things while getting ready with her are to turn on music and dance around with her while she gets dressed and then we take off.
The drive is only about 10 minutes at most since Verve is just one exit down the highway from us. Normally we fly up the 15 get off at Blue Diamond and the light is always green and off we go. Well this time it was red, we came to a stop as the first car in the line and this homeless man walked around the corner with his sign that said, ” Hungry, Please Help” with little crosses drawn on the bottom. I normally see these guys and for a split second I go hmmm I could help but…… This time it was a little different; I had packed some snacks and juice for Jade and I had a bottle of Fuit2o for me in the cup holder that I had no opened. I rolled down my window and asked the guy, ” Are you thirsty?” The guy could not have replied with more excitement in his voice, I received a quick, ” Yessir, thank you so much god bless you” and started walking towards the other cars. This mans reaction was not what hit me, It was my daughter that got me. The light turned green and I started to pull off and my 2-year-old daughter said, ” Daddy, Give him my snacks.” I am not going to play tough guy, a few tears ran down my face when she said that.
We have tried very hard to instill giving in our daughters heart and when all she saw was me give this man my water and pull away she told me to give away “HER SNACKS.” As proud of her as I was, her saying that to me was almost like someone telling me, hey dumb dumb all you gave the guy was a water… This is what made me begin to think about this situation in further depth. My daughter is 2 and still does not have the concept of value or ownership so in turn she does not have the thought of, ” What about me?” This is how I personally feel I should be, I should be able to give without that what about me feeling. I went the rest of my Sunday with that on my mind. I have always been a giving person as far as helping out those in need but to put it Simply, my daughter taught me a lesson about giving in 2 minutes that I have really neglected to fully embrace in 26 years.
All I can do is whole heartedly try to change my ways and give like a child… Lately the topic of giving has been presenting itself to me and I know that things like that do not happen for no reason, It is a good and bad thing is that it took my 2-year-old to show me the importance of it. Thank you Jade for helping daddy turn his thoughts inside out.
Raymond
All Things Raymond 