This was the third summer for the children’s daycare program at Fern Lodge. As the director of FLOCK (Fern Lodge Ongoing Creative Kinship) this year, I had the opportunity to witness the growth in each of us. Why FLOCK? What can it bring? I am still thinking about those questions.
At the very beginning of the summer, I asked myself, if there is only one thing that I want the children to take away from FLOCK, what would it be? I opened the Bible one night and this passage stood out for me, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (II Cor 9:7). Be a cheerful giver! Yes. There is nothing else more important than learning to give.
In the center of the FLOCK space there is our gratitude tree. Younger children also call it our love tree. We wrote down our gratitude (or love letter) on a paper leaf and put it up on the tree. The first day I explained this idea to the children, most of them were not sure what to write, and some even refused to do it. I even had doubt myself if this project would work. The end of the second day, I was surprised that they all turned in their leaves. The next day, they would shout out during the day what they were grateful for.
There were times I was distracted by the activities we did outside and forgot about it, and some children would come back in and write down things on their own. I was often touched by what they felt grateful for. Sometimes they were simple ones such as, “Thank you mama for making us snacks. I love you.” “I am grateful for Mary letting us play with her cats.” Sometimes they were deep, “I am grateful for all kind and nice people here.” Some of those even taught me a lesson. “I am grateful for my sense of humor.” “I am grateful for making others smile and happy.” I questioned myself when I saw those, “when is the last time I was grateful for being a giver?”
We often identify ourselves as a receiver when we think of things to be grateful for. But recognizing that we have something to give is indeed something we all need to be grateful for.
When we made arts and crafts, we drew and wrote letters on balloons and gave them to patients. The children built together an amazing cat castle for one patient’s cats. When we were outside picking plums, I noticed that the boys started to argue about who had more plums. I went up to them, combined all their plums in one basket, and said, “We are not only going to share with each other, we are going to give those to everyone at Fern Lodge: people in the office, kitchen and patients.” By the end of the day, I was thrilled to see the boys holding a plate of plums, walking around the facility and giving away plums to everyone. They realized that nothing is more exciting and satisfying than being a giver.
There is so much we can give. The children taught me a great lesson with their action and expression of love and care for others. After hearing that the children are still visiting the patients, even after I left, I finally realize that they are all naturally healers. Every one of us is born to be a healer. Fern Lodge’s mission is to heal, and FLOCK is here to heal.
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