A child shall show the way…
I found this in my mailbox today.
Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, “God is good. God is great. Thank You for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all. Amen!”
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, “That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream. Why, I never!”
Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, “Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?”
As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.
He winked at my son and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.”
“Really?” my son asked.
“Cross my heart.” Then in a theatrical whisper he added, indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing, “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”
Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her,
“Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes, and my soul is good already.”
It also reminded me of a certain generous little 9-year-old I know. We had a bar of chocolate to split between the two of us for a snack. While I devoured mine in 2 minutes flat, she broke off cube after tiny cube and decided to save half of it for later. As we chomped our way to cocoa bliss, she suddenly stared at me, then wordlessly walked to the refrigerator and took out her saved-up chocolate. Putting it into my hands, she said “Akka, you eat it. You are thinner than me and you work so hard, you need it more than I do.” It made me want to cry…I swear it did.
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anand jeyahar on 
IdeaSmith on 
1sunshine
wrote on 19 April 2006 at 20:10
Sometimes, children touch your soul in a way nobody else can. A far cry for the gluttony kid I used to be.
2Menagerie
wrote on 19 April 2006 at 22:32
That’s a sweet post. Kids know and feel so much more than we give them credit for. Miss my nephews so much
3iyer education
wrote on 20 April 2006 at 10:15
its got something to with pure and unadulterated thoughts i say!!! i wish some of my mean nephews could read this and offer me something
4Arjun
wrote on 20 April 2006 at 10:26
Scheming little devils! Eliciting sympathy and tlc.
The devil in the first story was just plain condescending!
The next one is blatantly name-calling.
Needs to be taught a lesson. lil brats! Bah!
5shub
wrote on 20 April 2006 at 16:11
so so so so so so cute!
and i loved the story! i’d love to know where u got it from?!
i’m fwding this to people I know!
thanks smithy for making my day brighter!
6Frigid Midget
wrote on 20 April 2006 at 18:00
*Sniff*
7Valhalla
wrote on 21 April 2006 at 6:30
A LOT more of that is needed in today’s world. It would help a lot with the epidemic of adolescent obesity going around!
8IdeaSmith
wrote on 21 April 2006 at 11:36
arjun: Ur turning into the kind of cranky old man kids giggle about!
Shub: A friend of mine sends around a daily thought of the day + joke + fact of the day. Like to get onto that mailing list? I’ll need to ask him.
Midget: Lady, when are you coming back??????????? We’ll see about the ‘sniffs’ then!
Valhalla: These were iddy-biddy kiddies, not pimply teenagers with raging hormones!
9valhalla
wrote on 22 April 2006 at 4:27
The gluttony starts early these days.. just like my cynicism did.
10APOO
wrote on 22 April 2006 at 4:40
Made me smile….
11fullmoononearth
wrote on 22 April 2006 at 17:15
That was so sweet. Kids these days are quite different from my childhood days and a lot smarter too, as I have observed.
12coolcat
wrote on 22 April 2006 at 22:02
Really really nice
13AJ
wrote on 23 April 2006 at 18:46
14Frigid Midget
wrote on 24 April 2006 at 13:37
hey…your mails keep bouncing back..just recheck the mail address u left for me.
15Frigid Midget
wrote on 24 April 2006 at 13:38
Hey, your mail account keeps bouncing back my mails…please recheck the mail address you left me, will you sweetz!
16Dee
wrote on 14 May 2006 at 13:30