Grateful Children

I went to a fundraiser Tuesday night for a wonderful charity called Faith in Practice. This awesome group of people travel to Guatemala providing medical and surgical care for the indigent. Faith in Practice is the second largest health care provider in Guatemala, the government is number one. I've been on 13 trips, working in the Recovery Room with babies who have had cleft lip or cleft palate repair. In my past career I was a nurse and this is how I keep in touch with that part of myself.

As I sat watching the entertainment and eating a sumptuous meal I began to think of all the people in Guatemala going to bed hungry or hurting. A slide show of patients and their families rolled and I was struck by a strong sense of how privileged we are in this country. My children need health care and I simply pick up the phone. My children are hungry and I open the refrigerator door. I have a strong sense of appreciation and gratefulness for the blessings in my life. My question is, do my children have that sense? Do they know, truly understand, how privileged they are?

I have struggled with this for some time. When my children were small they were very egocentric. This is the way children are created. It's normal for them to think of only themselves but they can't maintain that attitude and be productive or happy. How do we move them from egocentricism to altruism or selflessness?

Those of you who know me will know what I am going to say here because I say it often....you model it! Your children are watching you and need to see you exhibit selflessness. When you pray for others, take food to the sick, and otherwise share from your abundance you are setting an example for your children that is priceless. When your children witness you recycling they learn that the environment is important. When they see you care for your parents they learn that caring for the elderly has value. Any time they witness you think beyond yourself or your needs they are learning to do the same.

We don't want our kids to feel guilty for their blessings but we want them to be grateful to God from whom all those blessings flow. And, we want them to share those blessings with others. Talking about selflessness and what we can do for others, modelling altruistic actions and attitudes, and authentically caring for others will help our children be the generous, great-hearted people we would like for them to be.

Kathy