Unexpected blessings

I have a friend. She is 10 years old, and lives half a world away from me. She shares my birthday. And she brings a smile to my face.

For the past two years I've been sponsoring this friend of mine through Compassion International, and I never imagined the blessings she'd have brought into my life. I mean sure, sure, they have all these stories about how sponsors were in awe of what they got out of the experience, and how it made them cry when their kids wrote about how they and their family pray for them, and how you get to see your sponsored child grow over time as you correspond.

But, see, as it turns out, it's all true! At first, I got a picture, and some basic information about the child I'd sponsored. Then my first letter arrived. I write letters to her as well. Things catch my eye that I think a kid might like-- a postcard of a faraway (to her) land, or some stickers she could share with friends. With each letter I receive, and with each new photograph that occasionally accompanies them, I really have seen her grow and learned more about her. She writes to me about her family, the different kinds of fish they catch in the lake near her home, how she is doing in school, and the fact that she has 2 goats and 4 chickens (which is exactly the kind of detail I would love. Perhaps she has picked up some idea of who I am, as well. Or maybe I just love the same kind of details that a 10-year-old kid would love).

And she does write to me about how she and her family pray for me. And asking me to pray for her as well. Or for specific requests, such as for family members. How amazing is it to know that someone across the world-- a child, no less-- whom you've never met, thinks you're worth praying for? That is why I never forget to remind her that I keep her and her family in my prayers, as well.

When her letters arrive in the mail, I don't even bother to sit down when I get in the door... I just open it up and read it, like a kid opening a long-awaited Christmas present. When I got in to this, I thought it was a good thing to do. Some small way to share the blessings I've been given with someone who needs to be blessed, as we're supposed to do. I really did have no idea how much I'd get out of it.

So, many thanks to my young friend (who will probably never read this). But thanks anyway. And to those of you who are reading this, don't imagine for a minute that you would ever miss that small monthly bit of your paycheck that would go toward sponsoring a child. Sure, there may be months when you really had something else you could have used it on. But just wait till you get those letters. Those pictures. That faraway (or not-so-faraway) child who puts your name into their prayers.

See, this is one of those aforementioned stories like I read, and still didn't really get it. But just go ahead. Start. You'll see. And hopefully someday I'll be hearing your story about the blessing that you just didn't expect.

Compassion International