Teaching Compassion

I don't really know how to do this, like many things with motherhood sometimes I feel like I am forging new ground, and sometimes I feel like I am just winging it. But I want our daughters to grow to be compassionate women, and not just the kind the express it with words, but also back it up with deeds.

So each week, my goal is to find a way to express compassion or care to someone we love.

When a dear older friend of ours was in the hospital Miss Pear colored her a picture to help her feel better. As I explained what we were doing she got very excited and did a very good job. That was in December.

So now as we begin our new schedule, we are looking again for people. And, sadly, there are many people around us who could do well with extra love. A dear family has a very sick loved one, and it is the kind of sick that is long term. This morning Miss Pear colored an angel picture for her, doing her very best to stay in the lines (she is 3 and a half, that is really hard for her, but she tried so hard), and doing her very best to sign her name at the bottom.

Then she told me what she wanted me to write on top, and I almost cried.

There is a hymn/lullaby that we sing around here to offer comfort. I sang it almost constantly when Baby was sick with meningitis, and Miss Pear learned the words. So she sang it for our friend, and I wrote down the words.

I don't think I will have to teach Miss Pear to be compassionate, it is already there in her very loving heart. And I don't think I will have to teach her to act on that compassion, I just need to show her the opportunities.

We plan on doing lots of coloring pages, and also some baking.