A Fellow Traveller

The 2010 Winter Olympics are now history. The medals achieved have been taken home.The children at school though, are still humming the Olympic song, "I Believe". The media coverage often included visual highlights with only portions of the song. What were the words of the entire song? I had to check it out with the children at school. Together we explored finding the author's message. It's about determination and perseverance to achieve your goals. It's about sometimes feeling alone and discouraged but not giving up on yourself. It's about believing in the power of you and I to achieve. That's the Olympic spirit of achievement. It's all about me and what I can do. What if things don't go as we plan? What if you wipe out on the way down a slope and break some bones? What if your mother suddenly dies before you even have time to compete? What if you do your best and it's not enough for a medal? What if believing in yourself is flooded by thi...

Children who are not exposed to love and respect in the home, find it difficult to give out to others. What model do they have? How can you give something you have not received? If my bank account has not had "magic pennies of love" deposited into it, what do I have to give from? It is always easiest to give a smile back to someone who smiles at me. Likewise, if I wave at a neighbour every day and it is not returned, I soon give up trying. As a woman, so much is expected from me in terms of giving. If I am operating from an empty bank account, I will soon go into overdraft, feeling exhausted and depleted. As I receive the love of Jesus in me, deposits can begin to warm my heart. As those deposits build, I will have so much to give to others. Rather than my actions expressing love out of duty, I will find myself giving out of the overflow.

The words of a kids song keeps playing in my head, probably because I'm teaching it to the Primary children at school. Love is something if you give it away... You end up having more. It's just like a magic penny, Hold it tight and you won't have any. Lend it, spend it, and you'll have so many, They'll roll all over the floor. What does this kind of love look like? Seeing my daughter in Nicaragua, giving of herself so freely with the Spanish speaking children there, helps me see how love flows two ways. With minimal language skills, she is helping with a VBS program for two weeks. Already she is experiencing love flow back across cultural and language barriers. You can give even when you have nothing more than a penny's worth of abilities. You always have your time, your smile, your words, your friendship and your helping hands to hold tight to or else to give away. In the end, these gifts might mean more to someone than anything money could ever buy. Is there...