Page 23 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2013

We Are All God’s Children

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I was with the youngest primary children at church

last Sunday, when something happened that made me
think about Civil Rights Day and the challenges this
country has faced. One of the teachers was trying to help
the children understand that God loves everyone, no
matter who they are, and that we should be kind to
everybody, even if they are different from us. She

showed a picture of a little Down Syndrome girl and
asked the children if they could see any differences
between her and themselves.
One little girl raised her hand. “Yes,” she said.

“She’s smiling.”
“Yes, she is smiling,” the teacher replied. “But can
you see anything else that makes her different from you?”
The children looked and looked and strained to see a
difference. Finally, another little girl raised her hand.
When the teacher called on her, she said, “She’s dressed

in summer clothes instead of big, thick winter clothes.”
No matter how long the teacher asked them about
difference, the children could not see anything of
importance.

I smiled as I thought of an experience with my own
little daughter, Elliana. When she was five years old, she
was invited over to play at the home of a family that was
new to the area. The mother, father, and their four
biological children were all Caucasian, blue-eyed, and

very blond. They also had a sweet little African
American daughter that they had adopted.

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