It's easy to see how children are growing on the outside. Our girls are getting taller each year, and their faces don't look babyish anymore.
It's harder to see how they are growing on the inside. Are they internalizing the lessons we're trying to teach? Are they making wise choices and ultimately becoming young women of character?
Last night we got a hint of an answer.
As part of our Christmas season, we were picking out 'gifts' from the Samaritan's Purse gift catalog. We gave each girl $50 to spend on things in the catalog. They agonized over where their money would best be spent. Should they buy baby chicks? Mosquito nets? Medicine? Fruit trees? Bibles? Water filtration supplies? Eventually, the decisions were made.
Madeline decided to use her $50 as follows:
Mosquito Net ($10) and
Care for AIDS Orphans and Widows ($40)
Lydia decided to use her $50 as follows:
Train and Equip an Evangelist ($35) and
Baby Chicks ($15)
I was ready to complete the donation and confirm payment. Then Madeline asked a question: Could she use the remaining portion of her December allowance on another item in the catalog? Lydia wanted to know if she could use some of her own money, too. It was time for bed, and I thought those questions would be answered better in the morning, after Steve and I had had time to talk it over, and when the impulse of the moment had passed.
This morning, we let the girls know they weren't obligated to give more, and shouldn't feel pressured, but they could give more if they still wanted to. And they still wanted to.
Madeline said she wanted to spend her $7 from allowance on Hot Meals for a Child. Then she asked if there was anything in the catalog for only $4, which is how much cash she had left in her purse. I said the cheapest thing in the catalog was $5, Milk for a Child. She seemed disappointed. Then I admitted that the prices in the catalog were suggested amounts, and if she really wanted to still give $4, Samaritan's Purse would still use that money for Milk for a Child. She came up with another 75 cents and asked me if I could put her down for $4.75. (Yes, I chipped in another 25 cents to round it out to $5.)
Meanwhile, Lydia pulled $25 out of her purse (now I'm thinking I might ask her for a loan) and said she wanted to buy 2 Mosquito Nets ($10 each) and Milk for a Child ($5).
I guess our little girls are really growing up. They are still young with much to learn, but days of "me, me, me" are waning.
(Lydia, 8 months and Madeline, just turned 2)
