Thankful Thursday: A Compasssionate Heart

Going through my daughter's school papers last Sunday, I found this note...



I shared this pic on facebook already. But when I sat down to figure out what to write on my Thankful Thursday blog today, this little piece of writing was one of the first things that came to mind. How can I not be thankful, after all, for a little girl who has such an affectionate heart?

My kids often tell me how they miss their Grandma. I hear it from my 4 year old son, who probably has very minimal memories of my mom, and from my 6 year old daughter, who will sometimes be teary-eyed when thinking about how she can't see her anymore. We drove past a cemetery this past winter and Keara broke into tears because it made her think of Grandma.

When this happens, I say what I can, knowing that I have done the same a few times. It's a difficult concept for children to understand. It's a difficult concept for adults to understand, really. I think we can understand death all too well. But the tricky part to fully grasp is what happens after death. I'm one of those people who like tangibles. Life after death is, obviously, not one of those. It's something you have to take on faith. Not my strongest suit.

But, no matter how tough a concept all of that is, I can be thankful that my children have good memories of my mother, whether it be Keara's memories of things she did with her Grandma or Chris's memories that are more a feeling of love from and for her instead of specific things that happened. It makes me genuinely content to feel like I've raised my children to have tender hearts. Gentleness, regard for others, tenderness and empathy are some of the qualities I admire most about people. They can sometimes make your heart a little easier to bruise. But I'll take a bruised heart over a hard heart any day.