A Proud Mom Moment

I have to share a proud mom moment from this afternoon.  If you happen to be one of those people who doesn't like reading posts where a mom brags on her kids, you might want to stop reading now.  But if curiosity has got the better of you, then read on!

Early in the year, a Kenyan family living here in Des Moines had the unthinkable happen.  The husband/father of the family stopped to help two men who were pretending to be in trouble.  They attacked the good Samaritan and beat him nearly to death, causing major brain damage. 

In the months since, his wife and two children have been struggling in many ways.  Today a benefit auction was held to raise money for this family.  The girls asked what the benefit was all about and why we were going.  After explaining what had happened to this family, the girls went upstairs and emptied out their piggy banks.  We didn't tell them, ask them, or even expect them to bring any of their own money.

Emma has been saving up her hard earned money for more than half of the year.  Her goal was to save up for an ipod or Kindle.  She was getting close to what she needed for a Kindle, but chose instead to give literally half of her money to this family.  When she told me how much she intended to give this family, I told her that was a lot of money.  But with tears in her eyes, she told me that this husband and father was worth so much more than that.  I couldn't argue with her.

At the auction, we looked over the items, and Emma found a couple that she wanted to bid on with her money.  It was a silent auction, so we had to wait until the end to see if she had won any of the items she bid on.  Unfortunately, she didn't win anything.  But she still insisted on giving to the family all the money she had brought.

We were able to find the wife/mother and talk to her for a minute.  Emma told her she was sorry for what happened to her husband, and she hoped he would get better soon.  Then Emma gave her the money she brought.  It was all I could do to keep the tears from streaming down my face. 

One of my hopes and prayers is that my children will be generous givers.  Most of the time I feel like I'm failing in helping them grow in this area, as I mostly just hear endless streams of, "I want... I need... Can I get?... Can I have?"  But today, when I wasn't expecting my children to give anything, Emma gave away months of her savings to a family that is struggling in ways we can't even imagine. She's got a big heart.

It was a very proud mom moment.