We have a sweet little girl in our church who is only five but has such a heart of compassion that she stands out. She has a beautiful older sister who is compassionate and kind and willing to help but I guess this little one stands out because she is so young to have developed these traits already. She is always so eager to help anyone and she is a willing little worker, even at five.
Whether it is helping her mama with laundry or setting the table she does it willingly. Even at church in her Sunday School class, she likes helping the teachers by passing out crayons or the activity papers. If another child needs help zipping up a jacket, she'll be there to lend a hand. She has a servant's heart.
As I was thinking of this precious child, I realized that children like that don't just happen, they're taught to have a heart of compassion. This child's mama has that kind of a heart. I have never heard her complain about doing something for someone else. Never. Not even once. When her husband comes in from a fishing trip, she bags up beautiful haddock fillets and delivers them to different families to bless them. Often times her little girl goes with her. This mama is leading by example.
The Word of God says to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6. I think the key word here is 'train'. We have to be actively involved in teaching our children to be the people we want them to be. We have to train them to put others first before their own desires. And we have to show them the joy of serving others. Basically we have to show them how to live a life that honours Christ.
We live in a world where everyone is so busy that it's easy to 'let things slide', but when it comes to our children we can't. This mother that I am writing about is very busy, she works outside of the home, is involved in her church and can be counted on to help out wherever help is needed. But she still takes the time to lead by example and to train her children to be good, caring people.
Maybe you are reading this and wondering when you should start to 'train' your child. The time is now. It is never too soon to teach a child compassion. A child of two should have 'chores' to do, mine did and this little girl did too. A two year old can help fold face cloths or put napkins on the table. Applaud their efforts and no they won't be perfect. Celebrate when your child does a kind act on their own. Let them know how proud you are of them. It's easy to celebrate that "A" on a test paper, and we should, but it is just as important (maybe more) to celebrate when your child does something for someone else.
Kind people don't just happen, they are taught by word and by example. The Word of God doesn't tell us that training our children is an option, it tells us to do it. That's pretty clear to me. A compassionate child is a reflection of their parent and a reflection of Christ. And that is something we all want to see in our children. When you give birth to a child your work begins. The training and teaching never ends, because when they are adults you are still teaching and training them by YOUR example.
I think that one of my favourite verses applies to this situation perfectly: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9 Don't be discouraged if maybe your children are older than this little girl and have already developed some bad, self centered habits, they can still be retrained, retaught. Someone once said that if you do something every day for 30 days it becomes a habit. I don't know if that is true or not but it sure is worth the try. If we, ourselves, practice kindness towards others every day, it will become second nature to us. I don't know if it will happen in 30 days or not but I DO know it will happen.
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