A Little Story

We are trying desperately to teach our kids the value of things they have been given. They are always very thankful for all they get but, like most kids, they don't look after things. . .

I bought each of our girls a beautiful t-shirt just before we went on holidays in April. One of the girls decided to wear her 'new' t-shirt while they were opening coconuts. You guessed it, the t-shirt was ruined, covered in streaks of brown yuck. We tried washing it but it did not come clean.... so, she had to give mom 100baht(just over $3.00) so that we could buy her a new one. She was very good about it as she realized she had made a mistake.

The other day, this dirty t-shirt showed up in the laundry again. It wasn't wearable the way it was, so I decided to soak it totally in bleach, nothing would be lost. And, it came totally clean, looking as if it was a new t-shirt again.

Everyday, when the clothes are dried on the line, I bring them in and hang them in the front room and when the kids get home from school they get 'their' clothes and put them away. I had attached 100 baht bill to the t-shirt with a pin, not telling her anything about it. (Here is where I needed a camera.......... wow, the power of the heart.) All the kids were looking at the money and when she saw it, she picked up the shirt and looked at it. Tears fell from her eyes, she spun around and saw me and said "Mom, is this really MINE?" Yes......... well she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug........ "Thank you Mommy". So real, so genuine, so grateful, so thankful...... what a blessing they are to us! How I love our kids!