This Monday morning, when I turned on the news, they were discussing the synagogue shooting . It’s just unfathomable that this continues to happen in our country. To try and put a happier spin on things, the newscasters were asking people a question: “How can you spread love today?” People were responding via Facebook and Twitter using a hashtag, and it got my juices flowing.
How could I spread love today?
My mind started thinking of things, and I flashed back to an incident that happened this weekend.
We were out having dinner to celebrate my sister-in-love’s birthday. We were at a long table; we had 7 kids and 10 adults. Our waitress brought the little kids colors and coloring pages to keep them entertained and seated. Towards the end of the evening, the kids started getting restless and began wandering around our table. They weren’t being disruptive, just being kids and playing with each other. I got up as well and moved to go talk to some family that was at the opposite end of the table.
A few minutes into our conversation, I felt a tugging on my shirt. It was my daughter and she had an interesting request.
“Mama, can I ask that girl to come color with me at our table?” She pointed to a little girl, about her age, at a table near us. The girl was sitting at the end of the table, all by herself. She was wearing a blue princess costume, and she just looked sad. Her table was filled with women and a few other little girls, but for some reason, she was at the end where they had placed a few extra chairs. Sad princesses are just the worst.
I told her that she could ask, but I warned her that her mom might say no since we didn’t know each other. She went over to ask anyways, and the answer was no. She came back to our table, picked up 2 sets of crayons and 2 coloring sheets and marched back over to sit at their table and color with the little girl. The frown on the princess’ face dissolved and pretty soon the two were chatting as if they’d known each other their whole lives. When we left, my daughter reached over and gave her a huge hug.
Jesus very clearly tells us in Matthew 5 that anyone can love people who love them: “If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even scoundrels do that much. 47 If you are friendly only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the heathen do that. ( vs 46,47; TLB)” I love how The Message version says the next verse: 48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
I take no credit for this compassion that she exemplified, but I did take note. She knows nothing about comfort zones or boundaries; she acts on her heart alone. My daughter had left her table, full of cousins and family, and reached out to a stranger to make her day brighter. That’s how you spread love. I need to grow up and be a lot more like her.
~Shiney
