Ainsley's Golden Heart
I swear, Ainsley was born with a golden heart. There are times when I think her heart is that of an 80 year old woman, so wise and tender and full of compassion. I feel so blessed by this because during the seasons of life where emotions have been such a rollercoaster for me, her tender heart has shined as an example for me and a reminder to live with child like love. With the holidays being a time of missing mom, a lot of things going on at work, and crazy schedules in our personal lives, I was thankful when Ainsley asked me to do something we hadn't done before but something that made our holiday season, just a little bit more special.
She asked to go deliver snack packs to some of the homeless people we had seen down in downtown Tacoma. So after school, we stopped at Safeway and she told the store manager what she wanted to do. Heather, the manager, contributed the waters to her project and then Ainsley went through the store and picked out bagels, string cheese, satsumas, and oatmeal to pack into the rest of the bags. All paid for with her allowance. She was very intentional with making sure the bags were packed with nutritional things and things that could last a couple days.
She asked to go deliver snack packs to some of the homeless people we had seen down in downtown Tacoma. So after school, we stopped at Safeway and she told the store manager what she wanted to do. Heather, the manager, contributed the waters to her project and then Ainsley went through the store and picked out bagels, string cheese, satsumas, and oatmeal to pack into the rest of the bags. All paid for with her allowance. She was very intentional with making sure the bags were packed with nutritional things and things that could last a couple days.
After getting home and packing the bags up, our neighbor Sarah joined us for the search and feed mission. We drove around Tacoma Ave, Pacific Ave and other streets downtown until the bags had been delivered. Ainsley has moments she was uncomfortable and nervous, but she was determined to deliver the bags. She made sure to wish them Merry Christmas and while I don't know what exactly was crossing her mind, the "thank you"s and "Bless You"s that we received made her smile bigger than most smiles I had seen.
Our night came to an end as we passed out the last of them to those camping out under the bridge near the Rescue Mission. And as we packed back into the car, my heart grew a little and a few tears welled up inside. My sweet Ainsley is growing up, and her heart is only getting more and more beautiful every day. ❤️
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