The Kids

The Kids

Sunday, March 21, 2010

My Sensitive Daughter

The news was on in the background while I checked my morning email and Abby played in the living room. One clip caught her attention because she heard a little girl's voice. The story was about a young girl who had her foot caught in an escalator. It was pulled into the machine and they showed a picture of her shoe that was torn to shreds and they talked about the bruises on her foot.

Abby walked over to me and said, "Hearing that made me feel scared." I explained that it was a one time thing, that people ride the escalators all of the time, etc. A few minutes later, I walked into the dining room where she was standing and asked if she was okay. She said, "I just can't stop thinking about that story." She then proceeded to throw up her breakfast all over the table.

While I stood there in shock at what I had just witnessed, I finally got my act together and hugged her and cleaned her up. I have never seen someone get so sick over a story that does not involve them that they lose their food.

Then I got to thinking about my own reactions to life and wondered why I do not get more upset over the tragedies of life. When I think about the numbers of life lost every day due to starvation, abortion, war...am I so used to hearing about it that I have become numb? If I am to have a heart like Jesus, where is my compassion?

1 comment:

Teresa said...

OH MY GOODNESS!!! We saw the same story and M cannot stop asking me about that little girl (whose name was Madeline as well). I even dreamed last night that we on one and M's feet got sucked in and cut off and I woke up to the sound of her screaming in my dream! Horrifying!!!!! I also had a crazy dream about Nick walking out of a sermon during my brother's wedding and then all these people followed him. Pregnancy does crazy things in a bad way to my dreams.