Have you heard this song?
Yeah. As hard hearted as I am, it always makes me tear up.
I have been waiting to do this post for a few months partly because I was waiting until we put our Christmas tree up and partly because I didn't think I could type it without bawling the whole time.
Back in October Blake had the opportunity to go to Nauvoo and some other parts of Illinois to do some family history work with my parents.
It's not very often that he gets one on one time with anyone, so it was a really good opportunity for him. They left after school on a minimum day and were gone for four or five days.
Before he left I gave him some spending money. One of their first stops was the birthplace of President Lincoln and he got himself a red, white and blue baseball from the gift shop there.
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| The grave of one of my great, great grandfathers...give or take a few greats. |
He had a really great time. Every time I talked to him he told me about where he got to eat and seemed to be pretty happy not to have to share his meal or drink with one of his brothers! He is a lot like me and loves history (probably because I have dragged him to historical places since he was six weeks old) so this trip was right up his alley. The fact that he was able to see where some of his ancestors are buried was pretty cool too!
In Nauvoo my parents took Blake to the little area where they have activities for the kiddos. Blake was all macho and confident that he could easily take on the 12 year old kid who would become his opponent. This is how it turned out:
In Nauvoo my parents took Blake to the little area where they have activities for the kiddos. Blake was all macho and confident that he could easily take on the 12 year old kid who would become his opponent. This is how it turned out:
Needless to say, he was pretty humbled by this experience...but he did make sure to mention that if the winds had been just a little different or the sun wasn't in his eyes...blah blah blah.
Anyway.
My parents took him into one of the souvenir shops and he spent a lot of time picking out wooden toy guns for his brothers and a cute little pink sock monkey for Sophie. He picked out a neat little bottle cap magnet for me, and my dad chipped in to help him pay for these things because he ran out of money pretty quickly.
He and my mom were standing a little way away from the counter and he was telling her how he really wanted to get me something nice but he was out of money. My mom explained something to the effect that I would be happy that he remembered to get something for his brothers and sister and I didn't expect anything more. He said, "But it was her money." He was worried that I would feel like he had wasted it.
Apparently the shop owner overheard their conversation and told him to come to the counter.
He said, "I have something that I would like you to take home to your mother."
He proceeded to take three sun catchers out of the window, wrapped them up and gave them to Blake to bring home to me.
I don't know if Blake understands the significance of this event. My mom has told me that the value of all three are upwards of $50.
They are stained glass and the design on them is a replica of some of the windows that are in the Nauvoo temple. There are three different sizes and I knew as soon as I saw them that they would make beautiful Christmas ornaments. The biggest is too big for our little tree, but here are the other two:
Anyway.
My parents took him into one of the souvenir shops and he spent a lot of time picking out wooden toy guns for his brothers and a cute little pink sock monkey for Sophie. He picked out a neat little bottle cap magnet for me, and my dad chipped in to help him pay for these things because he ran out of money pretty quickly.
He and my mom were standing a little way away from the counter and he was telling her how he really wanted to get me something nice but he was out of money. My mom explained something to the effect that I would be happy that he remembered to get something for his brothers and sister and I didn't expect anything more. He said, "But it was her money." He was worried that I would feel like he had wasted it.
Apparently the shop owner overheard their conversation and told him to come to the counter.
He said, "I have something that I would like you to take home to your mother."
He proceeded to take three sun catchers out of the window, wrapped them up and gave them to Blake to bring home to me.
I don't know if Blake understands the significance of this event. My mom has told me that the value of all three are upwards of $50.
They are stained glass and the design on them is a replica of some of the windows that are in the Nauvoo temple. There are three different sizes and I knew as soon as I saw them that they would make beautiful Christmas ornaments. The biggest is too big for our little tree, but here are the other two:
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| The smallest of the three. |
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| The middle sized star. The weekend he brought those home to me I had gone through a pretty rough time. I am still dealing with the fallout from that weekend, though it is getting better. I have received many little reminders that the Lord is watching over me and knows my needs and those of my family. I do not need "things" to make me happy, but these little stars have brought me such peace. They have been sitting on my dresser as I counted down the weeks till I could put them on our tree. Now that they are up there with Christmas lights shining through them I can't help but smile when I walk by. I was reminded of the song I mentioned earlier when my mom told me how Blake obtained the stars for me. The last part of the song says: I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love As he thanked me and ran out I knew that God had sent that little boy To remind me just what Christmas is all about I wish I knew the name of that shopkeeper so that I could thank him myself. The compassion he showed my son and the selflessness of what he did for me shows me that there really are good people out there still. I hope that Blake will remember his kindness and learn from it as well. I also hope that as you go through this Holiday Season you will be reminded of the gifts our Heavenly Father has given you and that you will know that you are loved. *And now I am going to go find a box of Kleenex. I'll get one for you too, if you'd like.* |
6 comments:
That is awesome.
So neat that he got to go on that trip with your parents. He has a big heart.
*sniff* what a wonderful boy and shop keeper. And that song ALWAYS puts a lump in my throat (along with How Many Kings) Thank God for those moments that he reminds us of the Forget Me Not's.
You suck. Brought tears to my eyes, and I know the story! This is a great example of the selflessness of others. What a neat shopkeeper.
Thank you for sharing. So sweet!
A kleenex would be helpful right now ; ) What an amazing story. That shopkeeper has not only touched your life, but everyone else's who reads this. He'll probably never know the full impact of that act of kindness but it's amazing how the good things we do can have a domino effect like that. Thanks for sharing ; )
=] What a sweet boy you have and what an awesome shop keeper to think about serving versus monetary gain. So sweet. I would cry every time I saw those ornaments =]
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