On my most favorite of days, the brick and mortar mailbox sentry standing silently and solemnly at the bottom of our steep, winding drive, serves as harbinger of buried treasure.
Without knowing what precious gem awaits, I pull open the door and rifle through the stack of noise, a papered frenzy of carnies hawking for their wares.
If I wanted to buy something, I'd go to the store; I resent their relentless intrusion.
Fresh air has found her way to the bottom of the pile, a welcomed guest among the uninvited. She is cloaked in wrappings both familiar and unremarkable, serving merely as means to end.
I don't have to shake this gift to know what's inside; I've received others in the past. That only adds to my excitement, because I know what to expect:
The voice of a child, reaching across worlds, in words and wonder.
She tells me she had a happy Christmas and that she wore a nice outfit. She got a cooking set and dolls and is quick to thank me for my gift. She tells me that her family is doing well and she hopes the same for me. She asks me to pray for her mother. Every day.
Will I remember to pray for her mother every day?
She sends me two gifts. One is her signature in pink, her thumbprint; she can't yet write so her teacher becomes her scribe, an adult writing as a child, and it's the child I hear.
The second gift was invisible, delivered in five words and ending with exclamation:
I send kisses to you!
Her letter closes as they all do, "Love, Isaura".
A dollar a day is changing the course of her life; and because of that, she is changing mine.
How can I not love my Compassion "daughter"?
I love getting mail from my World Vision “daughter” 🙂
Touching.
How absolutely wonderful.
Flippin’ precious!
how sweet and memorable.
How special. I’ve supported an organization that supports children for many years now and the notes the kids write are just amazing. So glad you shared this. I stopped by today as I’m working on visiting the many blogs from Bloggy Carnival now that I have time to read and comment.
Ah yes, I love getting those letters in the mail! You are so poetic. 🙂
Really beautiful. I’m passing this link along.
Wow, Robin! How precious! Reading this, I know that I need to rearrange my priorities so that I can sponsor someone. It’s been tugging on my heart for a while.
I love the way you described this: “I pull open the door and rifle through the stack of noise, a papered frenzy of carnies hawking for their wares.”
So true.
Awwww …. break out the goosebumps! (or “chicken skin” as my teens would say LOL)
Absolutely precious.
This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing and I cannot wait to follow you to India! Congratulations on that ‘assignment from above.’ 🙂 God Bless. (p.s. thanks for stopping by.)
Oh my, the tears are flowing. Precious, precious.
Aubrey, First visit?? Thank you for your visit…and I hope they were the
“good” kind of tears :). THOSE can be precious, precious!
Wow, you’re right – how could you NOT love your sweet girl? My husband and I are going to sponsor a Compassion child beginning in March – I’ve been so inspired by all the Compassion Bloggers. So thank you for being one of those people and sharing with all of us!
It’s probably obvious I more than enjoyed writing this; so glad you enjoyed
reading it! India is already rattling around my brain…I can’t wait to
connect more dots :).
(and thank YOU for stopping by!)
:), your comment made me grin, Theresa. We have GOT to come up with a
better word for goosebumps OR chicken skin, though…ha!
Sarah, HOW MUCH DO I LOVE YOU??? You singled out one of my favorite lines
of the post! PLEASE stay tuned to my blog (not to put pressure on you…:)
)–I’m going to post a link in my sidebar (maybe today?) that allows you to
sponsor kids I MIGHT GET TO MEET IN INDIA!! IF it works out for you to
sponsor soon (and it feels like you’re almost “there”), I’d love for you to
choose one through that link so I can take YOUR love with me to YOUR
child!!!! xo
Joie, that kind gesture blesses me in ways I can’t express. Thank you :).
🙂
Audrey, you’re a champ. There are so many GREAT blogs to visit after the
BC, it’s hard to keep up with everyone. Thanks to you for your visit! 🙂
Sponsoring a child IS sweet and memorable! xo 🙂
Is it okay if I giggled when I read that? YOU’RE flippin’ precious!
🙂 I wonder how she feels when she gets one of my letters…I think I’ll
include my thumbprint next time 🙂
Do you ever write about it? Casting Crowns are big time WV supporters, had
I not been so engaged w/CI, they might’ve gotten my attention 😉 (GLAD
you’ve rescued a baby thru WV).