I might be becoming an old man (don’t tell my wife), but I count myself very lucky to have a wide variety of friends from all walks of life! One of my dear friends and colleagues is a mom to three young children. I have had the privilege of knowing and working with her since before her first child was born, and it has been really neat seeing her grow into the mother she is today.
My friend and her husband are people of faith, and every day when they send their daughters off to school, she prays over them, asking God to keep them safe and help them learn. The prayer varies a bit from day to day, but one thing she always includes as she prays over each little girl is this: “Help her choose to be brave, to be helpful, and to be kind.”
I just love that. Think about those three characteristics and all they encompass: brave, helpful, kind. Think about what that looks like in the life of a young child going off to school:
- Brave. Imagine a little girl raising her hand in class and bravely volunteering to write the answer on the white board. Imagine her speaking up in defense of a classmate getting bullied at recess.
- Helpful. Imagine a child offering to help the teacher tidy up the classroom at the end of class. Imagine that child skipping across the schoolyard and pausing to pick up a few candy wrappers and toss them in the trashcan.
- Kind. Imagine a little boy who notices the new kid sitting by himself at lunch and goes to sit with him. Imagine him sharing his package of Oreos with a friend who just fell down and is trying hard not to cry.
And now imagine those brave, helpful, kind children growing up into brave, helpful, kind adults. Image what that looks like in their homes, in their workplaces, in their communities.
It’s a choice: choose to be brave, choose to be helpful, choose to be kind. So very simple, yet so very powerful. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we change the world!
