Last week, my daughter approached me with one of her many GRAND ideas…
“Mom, I was thinking I could sell hot chocolate and then take the money from my selling and dump it all in those things at Wal-Mart that hold money for the Children in the Hospital.”
She has long been fascinated with these contraptions -not because they’re fancy and swirl your money ’round and ’round but because the money is FOR SICK KIDS. She can’t stand the idea of sick children. She WANTS to help. She’d give everything she had if she could.
“You could,” I replied, “But you don’t have to go through Wal-Mart to do that.”
“What do you mean?” She cocked her head to one side and raised one eyebrow, her mouth showing a gap where she’d just lost a tooth.
“Just what I said… we are going to Phoenix in a couple weeks where there is a hospital JUST for kids! You can take your money, buy gifts, and take it to the kids YOURSELF.”
Her eyes lit up and instantly fell, “But I only have two bucks…”
I told her there were many people who would love to help her with her Christmas Project.
“But we can talk about it tomorrow,” I said, “It’s late… time for bed.” We’d just finished watching a Christmas movie after putting up our tree. I’d told the kids they could sleep next to the tree that night. I cozied up on the couch to keep an eye on them, and truthfully -I wanted to sleep next to the tree as well.
I woke up the next morning to find the living room floor covered in cardboard, duct tape, scissors and brown paper… and a BOX with a hold in the top sitting next to my sleeping daughter. She hadn’t rested until her donation box was made.
The next night, her father found her on her knees. She told him she’d been praying about her project.
A few days before she started working on her Christmas Project, a box had shown up at our door full of “SECRET SANTA” gifts. Lacy was deeply touched (we ALL were!) and immediately wanted to pay it forward. She saved the box our gifts were given in and has decided to use THAT VERY BOX for her project.
(THANK YOU TO OUR SECRET SANTAS! WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE!)
A few days later, I helped her set up a Go Fund Me account.
“How much money are you hoping to raise?” I asked her, readying myself to type “$150″ or maybe “$500.”
“A THOUSAND,” she didn’t miss a beat -full of confidence.
A thousand it is.
Lacy Gayle is such a giving soul -anytime she had a hint of cash in her possession she immediately wants to give it away. I have a small set of gifts from her: a key chain, hot pink lipstick (“It’s your FAVORITE color, Mom!”)… This Project is so close to her heart. She beams whenever she talks about it, and I’m proud to help her.
I hope Lacy knows whenever she really feels something SHOULD be done, SHE CAN DO IT! I believe in her, and I know this project will come to pass! I’m inspired by her example, and after she’s delivered her Christmas Box, she’s told us her plans to go caroling at the nearby rest home, “because they shouldn’t be alone on Christmas, Mom.”
It’s entirely possible that Lacy Gayle Deets is actually an angel. A toothless angel.
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