We went to visit a family unannounced and when we got their Sergio was on his bed sobbing, his face soaking wet. When I asked what was wrong, his mom and sisters were quick to tell me that he cannot be in the Independence Day Parade with his school band because they don't have the money for the quite expensive uniform, and he was heart broken.
I had just gotten done having a conversation with someone about how living in a very poor family is not the child's fault, and yet they are often the ones who suffer most.
I asked him what he played and he told me the drums.
I asked him how much the uniform cost and he told me.
And then I leapt with my heart and not my head and said that I wanted to pay for his uniform.
I do not tell you this to brag, in fact some of you may realize how this might not have been the smartest move. But my "mom" heart was breaking. I told him that I thought God heard his tears and cared for what was important to him and that I wanted him to know the uniform was not a gift from me but from God. I told him God sees him and cares for him and cares about what is important to him.
By the time we left he was smiling and drumming on every surface in the house. And, well, he may not be the best drummer in the world, but at that moment he sure was the happiest.
