Rich

This afternoon the children were having a lively back seat discussion about the word 'rich' that started with the description on a milk bottle of all things. I love probing to find out exactly how they are putting together certain things in their growing understanding of the world.
"What is rich?" I asked.
"I don't really know" P replied bluntly.
"It's when you have a lot of money and stuff, " R explained.
"So, how can you tell when someone is rich?" I asked.
"They have nice cars and clothes and jewels," K informed me. "You can look at them and tell."
(As a former banker, I have to say this is not always the case. I did not interrupt this time. I really wanted to hear their thoughts without influencing them.)
"I think you can tell people are rich because they just laugh and smile all the time--they can have whatever they want" P added.
(I really, really wanted to pipe in here, but am so glad I held my tongue or I would have missed K's next comment.)
"I do NOT want to be rich when I am a grown up," K stated emphatically.
"Really? Why not?" I asked.
"Because if I have extra money I want to give it to people who need it, like hungry people and people in the Dominican Republic and kids who don't have any parents to take care of them."

I was blown away.

Lord, help me 'get it' like my sweet girl does! I like stuff too much to take credit for her attitude. Thank you for being so real and active in her life! What a blessing and a challenge from the mouths of babes.

In the interest of full disclosure I should mention we were pulling into Target at the time. Once inside they all returned to their Christmas wishing--but we had our moment. I pray that K's generous attitude persists as she gets older. Then she will be rich (in all the ways that really count) indeed!

Here's a link to another awesome story to give some perspective to wealth from a child's standpoint...