To the boy who made me feel important…
In a daycare, here in Botswana.
You weren’t the first little dude to catch my eye…
But you were certainly the last.
The first time we locked eyes…
I was told to feed you.
You’re only 3…
So it makes sense…
That you needed that porridge…
Spoon fed to you.
I’ll never forget that when you had one bite left…
You sneezed…
Good thing it was away from me!
You didn’t have any choice…
but to let your teacher clean you up.
After your porridge was finished…
You ran to that bathroom like there was no tomorrow.
And to be honest…
You kind of reminded me of my brother when he was little!
When you found your way back to me…
You sat on my lap…
Tilted your head back…
And had the biggest grin on your face.
You just sat there,
Like no one could hurt you.
You were the king of the castle.
And as the other preschoolers practiced for their graduation…
You allowed me to dance with your arms.
Side to side,
Up and down..
Forwards and backwards.
I also remember when I first heard your name…
Pronounced “Mahowoo”,
It means grace.
And let me tell you…
how much grace you had with me.
But this is the moment I’m going to remember the most…
The teachers wanted my team to…
Come up to the front and dance.
So I put you on the chair…
Walked away and stood at the front of the classroom.
Not even a minute later…
You ran up to me with teary eyes.
My heart sank so fast…
I almost teared up myself!
I picked you up…
And danced with you until a smile appeared.
That was the moment…
That I’ll never forget.
You made me feel important.
You made me remember…
The times when I needed to be spiritually fed…
The times I needed to allow the Lord to wipe up my mess…
The times where I allowed God to use me…
even dancing!
And most importantly…
The times when I wanted to run into the His arms and just be loved.
I know it’s not quite the same…
But nonetheless you made me feel important.
I needed that gracious reminder…
That I’m not doing this trip…
For my worth…
But for His kingdom growth.
So thank you…
To the boy who made me feel important.
???????? Such a precious story!
Those question marks are heart emojis….
Laiken!!! These are the stories that make life worth living. What joy you found and what joy you gave through this little boy! I love you!!
Laiken, Thank you for sharing that beautiful story and the analogy you gave of how we, just like the little boy need to be spiritually fed, need God to clean up our messes, need to be held in His arms and know we are loved! What a beautiful image! Thank you for sharing your faith journey with us!
I look forward to reading your posts!
Haha!
Btw, I even had a few children picked out for you!
Thanks Gisele, love you too!
I’m glad you enjoyed. 🙂
Thanks for sharing .This
experience you had taught me to remember that I am needed , I am loved and precious . God made me and God love me .There are still so many things in life we can do to share our love to others and in doing so we glorify and praise God . I am glad you are finding joy , meaning & fulfilment in your mission trip. Thank you for your prayers . God bless you.
What a sweet story, Laiken. God uses us in so many ways