Faithfully Loved

I can't fluff this one with intricate wording and fancy synonyms, because I am pretty tired and my brain hasn't really been functioning properly lately. But I just wanted to say, for anyone who cares, that today was a very good day for me.
It started when Blake and I brought smoothies for the kids in the Buford housing projects this morning. Now these kids aren't what most of us would call "well-off" by any means when speaking in financial terms. Many of them only own one pair of pants and two shoes with six holes in each of them. They don't have trendy electric scooters or X Box 360's. In fact, as far as possessions go, they don't have much to speak of at all. Yet, when we arrived at the housing community today, I still got this overwhelming feeling of envy. I didn't quite understand it first, but after I thought about it for a while, I realized exactly what it was. For all of the material possessions these kids lack, they make up for in love, faith, and compassion. No matter what they seem to be missing in their lives, they have something that many of us will never fully possess; the capacity to fully appreciate. We take advantage of so much of what life offers us. The love we give and the love we receive, the air we breathe and the time we get. No matter what these kids long for in life, they can always rest assured in the fact that, no matter what, they always have each other. Humanity is often forgotten, but in the end, compassion and love are the only things that truly matter. Although these kids don't have much, they still manage to keep such strong faith. Their faith in God, and in people, and in life is absolutely astounding. And whether you believe in a higher power or not, the simple words of "God bless you, I will make sure to keep you in my prayers" coming from an obviously malnourished, eight year old boy in tattered clothing, is enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes. Their attitudes are just mind-blowing. Just saying.

I got to spend time with Wesley today too, which always manages to make even the worst day great. We went to a concert in Suwanee, the weather was beautiful, the music was great, and the sunset was breathtaking. And watching Wesley and my sister and her friends have so much fun just made me realize what is really important in life. I let all of the trivial arguments and the insignificant events of life get in the way of everything that I should be embracing wholeheartedly; love. And there is no love as great as the love you have for a child. His smiles and his laughs make my heart melt. His hugs and his kisses make me feel so safe. And his 'I love you''s make me love myself, even at my lowest times. You can never truly know unconditional love until you have loved a child. There is nothing that boy could do to ever make me love him any less. And just when I think I couldn't love him more, he steals my heart again. I carry a picture of him in my mind everywhere I go, and I can't even begin to count the times that that picture along has saved me from myself. He is my friend, my son, and my little hero, and I will devote my life to him. And if I can promise him nothing else, I can be sure that, forever and always, he will be faithfully loved.