A Little Servant Heart

Teaching my kids about serving is so important to me. I want them to teach them about how different people have to live and the things that we can do to help others! I want my kids to be familiar with sacrificing their time and resources so that once they are grown, these won't be new concepts. 

Last month, we adopted a family to purchase groceries for their Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of doing the shopping myself, Jackson and I ventured out on a special trip to get the items from the list. It was a wonderful experience. Jackson even picked up a giant bag of M&Ms and said, "I think this family doesn't have M&Ms! We should buy them!" I told him we needed to stick to the list, but I wish we would have gotten them. I was proud of his thoughtfulness! He did get to pick out the cake mix and icing.

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He helped pack the sack and he helped me carry it in to Bible Study the next day. He was so eager to help!

Tuesday night, our family ventured out to ring bells for the Salvation Army in front of our local Walmart. It was super easy to sign up online (www.ringkc.com) and I picked a date as soon as possible to take advantage of the nicer weather we've been having. 

As cute as she is, Belle wasn't very eager about staying nearby or cooperating much at all. Derek took her home after an hour and I stayed with Jackson.

Jackson did an excellent job. His 4 year old attention span got bored, but he toughed it out. The bucket collector was thirty minutes late, but he was patient. His little feet got tired after standing around for 2 1/2 hours, but he didn't complain. He said Merry Christmas to hundreds of patrons. And aside from a few awkward comments {"Oh, Man! How did you get so OLD!?"} and the times when Jackson made his bell a gun and was "shooting" at people... the night went on without a hitch. I'm so proud.

This was such a good opportunity to teach Jackson about people who live on very little money, who might not have a house or winter coat. But it was also so good for Jackson to get outside of his little comfort zone and to do an activity that wasn't focused on him. I'm so proud of this little guy.

I think it's pretty safe to say that he blessed many people that night too. So many customers came back from their cars or drove up and handed him money through their car window because they wanted to support him. Jackson carried on conversations with many of the passer-byers and most left with great big smiles. I love that my kids can bring joy to others, especially during the holiday season!

I'm hoping we can make this an annual experience!