Poor Box

I've posted about this before, but she amazes me, so I'm posting again.


This is Emma's heart.

That's probably all I need to say, but I am a mother you know. :-)

Looking back, I realize this started after VBS last summer. I remember she came home one night talking about kids in Africa not having food to eat, and that we needed to help. She took some change that she had to VBS the next night. Ashamed to say, but I forgot about it after that.

About a month or so later, she wanted to take more money for the kids in Africa. Ashamed to say again, but I kind of blew her off. I told her that since VBS was over, the box for Africa was gone. She wasn't happy about that and let us know it. Many. many. many. times. I couldn't take it anymore and told her about the "Poor Box" at church.

Determined to help, she started gathering money. Her methods of gathering? Door to door. Really. The first time, she made newspapers and tried to sell them to the neighbors. Uhm, yeah, she tried to sell her at the time 5-year old version of a newspaper. The first neighbor didn't understand what she was doing and sent her away. Since that didn't work, she came home and found one of our "real" newspapers and took that to the next neighbor. It worked! She had money for the poor box! (The first neighbor upon realizing what was going on did buy a newspaper.)

She has done this several times since. It's not always a newspaper. This last time, she colored a picture and told me she was going to try to sell it "to get money for the homeless people." Back out to the neighbors she went. Then she called Grandma. You know Grandma can't say no. You should've seen Emma's face when she opened the check!

This past Sunday was her 4th or 5th time putting money in the poor box. The amount she contributes grows each time. This time it was $21! Don't know about you, but I think that's pretty good for a 6 year old! She tells us every time, "There are homeless and hungry people out there that need this money more than we do." Those are HER words! The homeless and hungry are never far from her mind, and anytime money is talked about, she reminds us too. "We don't need to keep all of our money, because there are homeless people who need it." When she gets started, my heart swells. I can't help but wonder, if this is what she is doing for others when she's six, what is she going to be doing when she's 16, 25, 30...?

What makes Emma's life hard, is that there are a few adults that she has to interact with on a daily basis that do not take the time to see her heart. I can't speak for them, but my impression is that it's just not worth their time to figure out how to connect with such a strong-willed child. It's not worth their time to really know her. The impression they give is, "Because you are a child, I control you. What you have to say means nothing. I am the adult, therefore I am the boss." I know to a certain extent this is true. The bible directs us to teach our children obedience and discipline. But at the same time, not everyone is of the same mold! Different temperaments require different approaches. If not, Mommy and Daddy are left to pick up the pieces of a broken spirit. (Can't think of any better reason to homeschool.)

The adults that do know Emma's heart? They absolutely love her and love spending time with her.

When she is sad, all I have to do is empty the change from my purse into her collection tub. Puts a smile on her face every time.