Kleenex Angels
"This is My commandment, that you love one another,
just as I have loved you." (John 15:12-13 NASB)
I first heard about Alex and his mom, Diane, from his first grade teacher -
my daughter. She had asked me to pray for him, and it wrenched my heart as
she explained the circumstances. Alex’s mom was dying of cancer and wasn’t
expected to live much longer. In early December the doctors admitted her to
the hospital for what they considered to be the final time.
A friend of mine took a small white lace angel to Diane, asking the family
members present that day to tell Alex this angel was to remind him that his
mother would always be in the presence of angels.
Diane managed to hold onto life by a thread as Alex’s 7th birthday rolled
around, and then died 4 days later- two weeks before Christmas. Alex and his
father took the little angel home and placed it on top of their tree. When
Alex returned to his first grade classroom, he brought the little white
angel to show his classmates. He carefully put it in a little box and
handled it, oh, so lovingly!
His classmates had known of Alex’s mother serious illness, and as he showed them this wondrous angel, he said that his mother now resided in heaven. I happened to stop by their classroom that day, and Alex opened the box and showed me the angel. Tears ran down my face as I hugged Alex.
Before I knew it, one his classmate was tugging at my skirt. She held in her hand an angel made from a Kleenex and scotch tape, and as she handed it to me, she said, “Here, this one is for you!”
How very sweet, I thought, and delightfully thanked her .
That evening I spoke with my daughter on the phone, and she told me that shortly after I left the classroom, she looked around, and this little girl had made Kleenex angels for the entire class!!! They were everywhere- on desktops, backpacks, a few dropped on the floor, and some in the pockets or hands of the precious first graders.
This child demonstrated such a spontaneous and sweet
act of kindness . May we all have a heart as big as this child!
Marion Smith