Thankful Thursday: "...as you did it to one of the least of these..."

"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, 

as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" 

-Matthew 25:40

This week for Thankful Thursday, I am thankful that our sponsor information packet arrived from Compassion International.  AC and I have actually been talking about sponsoring a child for a while, because though we both have a heart for adoption, it just isn't in the cards for us at this moment.  Sponsoring a child was the next logical step, but neither of us actually went out and signed up.  

In the last few weeks, we have been dealing with SC being a product of the technology generation and have really taken a hard look at what we have compared to what so much of the world has, and how we can express to SC that she is so blessed.  We do not want to raise an entitled child, who demands to be entertained during dinner, in the car or when she is "bored" at home.  In fact, we thought we would never be those parents who hand over a phone or other device at a restaurant or have movies playing in the car.  Things have changed quite a bit in the past four and a half years since she was born.  

So, when I signed up to sponsor a child, I wanted to choose a girl who is the same age as SC, because I think as SC grows, it will be easier for her to compare her life with that of a child her own age.  I was really excited that one of the first girls I was shown was born only two days after SC.  I immediately selected her, and tried to wait patiently for the packet to arrive.

Our little girl's name is Oneydi, and lives in El Salvador.  SC cannot wait until we get back from our next tag-along trip with AC to start making her cards (stamped with both girls' names) and send her some small gifts, like stickers.  We have also already been able to talk about how her life might be different from SC's, as well as what things might be the same (they both care for animals as a chore, though I imagine Oneydi's animals are much larger).

Now, we are not doing this so we can say "there are starving children in third-world countries, so you have to eat your dinner" or in any way threaten her to feel guilty about what she does have.  We want her to see how blessed she is, and to raise up a child who loves to give to those who need in the same way that we have been given to cover our needs.  We want to educate her that not everyone lives the way we do, but show her that God's love extends to the deepest, darkest reaches of the Earth, and that He can use us to spread His love.  We want her to feel that giving is so much better than receiving.  We want SC to, hopefully, be able to develop a friendship with Oneydi rather than simply think of her as someone "less than" us who needs our help - to really know that we are all equal in the eyes of God/love.

Do you sponsor any children through Compassion or another organization?  What type of gifts have you found to be the best/most liked/easiest to send?  Leave a comment, then check out what some others are thankful for at: