A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated M’s 10th birthday. As usual, she received great gifts from friends and family and some cash as well. She loves to spend her money at Target, so we went with Mammaw and J one afternoon before taking Mammaw back to the airport. J had a gift card leftover from quite a while ago and M was all set to spend, spend, spend! J picked out a Star Wars Lego set, and much to Mom’s chagrin, M chose another Barbie. When we got to the counter, J discovered that he only had $0.79 left on his gift card and was unable to make his purchase. I explained that he could save up some money, get some money out of his boot bank, or wait for his b’day to buy this Lego set. I was trying to teach a lesson about saving and spending…about the pride of ownership when you make a purchase on your own…about perseverance vs. instant gratification… M continued through the line, made her purchase, and we went on our way. J, of course, was disappointed, not understanding the fairness of this situation. I did the best I could to explain that M was spending her b’day money like he had already spent his (hence the reason there was only $0.79 left on the card). Still, it didn’t make much sense to a 6 year old. All he knew was that M had a bag and he didn’t.
Within about 3 miles, though, J had forgotten the incident and had fallen asleep on the way to the airport. M, however, was wide awake and very quiet. I asked her what was wrong…Suddenly, she burst into tears. I thought I had hurt her feelings because I was pretty adamant that I did not think her purchase of a Barbie was a good choice, even telling her that we may have to sit down and rethink this decision when we got home. But what she said astounded me! She said, “Mom, I wanted to ask you something at the store, but I thought you would say, ‘No’. I wanted to ask you if I could give J my money so that he could buy the Lego set. I really just wanted to step up and get it for him when he didn’t have enough left on his gift card. I didn’t want him to be sad.”
I wanted to stop the car right then….get out…and hang on to my daughter with everything I had! What a precious heart! What kindness! What mercy! She has demonstrated over and over again in the last 10 years that she cannot stand to see people suffer. She demonstrates a quality of Jesus that I struggle with….I am truly humbled by her willingness to sacrifice of herself in order to help others. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus has done for us? While she may not be able to say in words all that being a follower of Jesus means, she is able to put into practice an example of what He has done for her.
“Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7
By the way–she got to keep the Barbie.
Choosing Life 
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