Show kindness to kids!

I substitute taught in second grade the other day. The assignment for the children was to write a story about something that really happened. One little girl sat and sat, without beginning to write. I went and talked to her alone, trying to prompt her to think about happy things that had happened to her in the past. She couldn't think of any happy times. Her dad doesn't have time to play with her. Her mother just works. Her brother is mean to her. Her friend doesn't ever come to see her. I told her she had a pretty blouse. I asked if her mom had taken her to buy clothes for school. She said her mom went by herself to get clothes. It was fun for her mom--it wasn't fun for her. I told her that I wanted to be her friend. We would have a happy day in class. I asked her if she could write about that. So she got going and wrote three little pages about having Mrs. Harthan in her class. There is a lot of talk about "no child left behind" as the theme for our educational system. But some children will always be left behind--those in dysfunctional homes where they are neglected or abused or unloved. We must all work to show love and kindness to children around us. They need to know that Jesus loves them!