heartbreaker.

There's a little boy, D, in my class - new to this country, as he just moved here last year. The other week, a co-worker shared a bit of his back story, which just broke my heart. Apparently, when his parents found out they were expecting, it was unplanned, and they took him to live with his grandmother in their home country. However, the grandma was an alcoholic and didn't take good care of him; he never went to preschool or kindergarten, and when she was drunk, he was found one day wandering the streets by himself.

Last year, he came to live with his parents and he seems to be doing much better. He's a very sweet and chatty kid - always telling stories and making friends.

One might think that having such a tragic childhood would have left him bitter or closed off to the world, but somehow, it's the opposite. He's extraordinarily kind and loving. The other day, I gave my students a strict talk about something that had happened (I can't remember what, exactly, but I wanted to demonstrate the severity of the issue). I told the students not to tell on anyone else, but if they wanted to be honest, to just admit the truth if they had been involved. This little boy, D, raised his hand and made a serious confession. However, later on, I discovered that it had actually been another boy in the class, who had remained silent. When I asked D why he had said it was himself, he answered, "Because I didn't want anyone to get in trouble - only me."

Just last week, I overheard one of my most active boys in the class, loudly grumbling that his pencil was broken and he didn't have any others. D quietly turned around and gave him his own pencil. Then, a few moments later, as I instructed the kids to start their work, D raised his hand and told me, "I don't have a pencil." D didn't say anything about giving his away; just simply asked for another one for himself.

It's such a simple thing: putting others before yourself. Yet I'm finding that it's so difficult to put into action and extremely rare to witness, especially in a class of six-year-olds. D has taught me a lot through his giant, loving heart about loving other people. I know God is so pleased when He sees D's love in action, because it so reflect His own selfless, unconditional agape love.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. -1 John 3:16