Kids Sheltering Kids

"Jesus loves the little children...they are precious in His sight." Flipping through photos, I discovered the sympathy cards my boys made for some friends and thought I would save them for a post. Little did I know, that same day my mother would post: 'Sheltering the Sorrowful' and mentioned the grandmother and mother of the children these sympathy cards were made for. Mom mentioned when starting this blog that the three of us -- Mom, Em, and myself -- would be able to share stories of how to shelter different ages. In this case, she was sheltering the adult mother, whose own mother had passed. I decided to reach out to this mother as well -- but through her children (one being around the same age as Ethan.) The boys had gotten new stamps and an ink pad as a gift from our Junior Church and so we used that for decorating our cards. Before putting the cards in a sealed envelope, we prayed for this family.  Praying for this family isn't something new for my kids. Nighttime prayers used to mention Linda Rich's name before she passed because of her illness and her being so sick. After her funeral, we directed their prayers be prayed for her daughter's family. Children are so sweet and sincere in their praying. Sometimes we snicker at the way they pronounce a word or a name that sounds funny to us, but they remember night after night to pray for someone sick and hurting. I can still remember my friend, Kristen, whose kids would always mention a girl named Annie, who had cancer and needed healing. God can use you, just as He uses my mother with her wonderful way of picking special gifts to give to the hurting. God can use you, along with your children, to show other children that God loves them and that they are precious in His sight. In my case, it was triple-fold: 1. Opportunity to spend some time with my children while making the cards. 2. Opportunity to teach my children encouragement. 3. Reaching a hurting family with God's love by showing them we care.