by Mary Clifford Morrell
Life offers our children and us many lessons. Some seem to be repeated until we actually sit up and take notice.
One important lesson I’ve learned over the years is this: When some part of our lives is in flames, it’s foolish to refuse help from the person, or angel, who brings the fire extinguisher.
Many years ago, when one of my middle sons had his driver’s license for only a few weeks, he fell asleep at the wheel, ran off the highway, and hit an abandoned car, flipping the station wagon he was driving several times before it landed horizontally across a hectic four-lane highway. In addition to everything else, the engine caught fire.
Fortunately, a trucker driving in the opposite direction saw the accident and turned around just in time to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher he kept in the cab of his truck. How different things might have been if that amazing man hadn’t appeared just when he did.
Similarly, my friend’s son was driving home alone from Pennsylvania very late one evening when he had two blowouts. Stuck on a windy mountain road, he quickly realized the precarious position of his car and was certain he was stranded for the night. But just minutes later, bright lights pulled up behind him, and a trucker jumped out of the cab of his 18-wheeler to help. I can’t imagine a more welcomed sight—surely, an angel in the eyes of this young man.
Religious traditions explain angels as messengers of God who often appear in the most unexpected ways and with the uncanny knack of arriving just in the nick of time. Often, if we pay attention, we realize that those acting as angels are humankind. Hopefully, that acknowledgment leads to gratitude.
Gratitude involves realizing that the good that comes to us in our lives often comes from outside ourselves. Helping children become aware of this reality, helping them recognize the angels in their lives, whether they be family, friends, or strangers who appear at the right time, helps them develop the virtue of gratitude.
Encourage children’s awareness by asking them simple questions: Who helped you today? Who made you feel better today? Did you make anyone feel better today?
If we teach children that God is love, then it makes sense that God’s messengers would be sharers of that love. Children grow in courage, humility, and compassion when they become aware of how others reach out to help them and when they realize those times when they might be the angel for someone else.
I’ve also learned there is no age requirement for angels. Sometimes they drive 18-wheelers, and sometimes they need training wheels.
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
by Mary Clifford Morrell
Respect is a mutual gift between two individuals, but in raising and teaching children we often forget that even the youngest of children deserve respect. It is from our respect for them that they learn how to respect others.
As a pre-school teacher, I encountered many children with different talents, abilities, and views of the world. One of my pupils saw the world as filled with color, and his artwork was a result of that view. Purple trees and flying red dogs often graced the page of his crayon masterpieces, filled to the edges with color, until one day a teacher from another classroom stopped in to visit. She walked around the table where this youngster was drawing, leaned over, and said, “Oh, no. Trees are not purple, they are green, and dogs are not red. You should do this over.”
My student hung his head while I tactfully escorted the teacher to the door so our next activity could begin. When I returned to my student, I sat in the little chair next to him and told him his purple tree was the most beautiful tree I had ever seen, and I would give anything to have my own flying red dog. Certainly, if God made giant rainbow squirrels, which live in the forests of India, he certainly could make flying red dogs.
“Really?” he asked, his face brightening. “Absolutely,” I said, and showed him some of the photos of these amazing creatures.
I explained that not everybody had the ability to see things as colorfully as he did, and there was no reason for him to redo his art. His ability to draw was a gift God had given him.
I remember this experience vividly because when he looked up at me he had the most beautiful of smiles on his face. He then promptly picked up his crayons and added some blue and purple squirrels to his picture.
The next day, during our reading session, I brought out the book with the multicolored squirrels so all the children could see a bit of the magnificence of God’s creation. They “oohed” and “aahed” over the photos with childish wonder and, of course, from then on my young artist was not the only one to have blue, orange, and purple squirrels in his artwork.
The visiting teacher missed an important opportunity for teaching a child respect, by respecting the child’s artistic expressions. Criticism of a child’s sincere efforts is not constructive. Every child needs correction at times, but it is best not to couch criticism as a correction. Correction helps build a child up, criticism tears down.
Respecting a young child’s individuality, their vision, coupled with offering direction when needed, will help a child begin to develop an understanding of what it means to respect others.
Mary Regina Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to nine, is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.