Emma is two years old; she has beautiful long brown hair and fair skin. Her eyes are big and brown and slightly slanted—Emma has Down’s syndrome. Her smile can light up the world and is so pure and freely given that I would term it to be Grace in its most breathtaking form. So you can imagine how wonderful it is to not only get a smile from Emma, but a leaning in, “I trust you” hug offered shyly and quietly while I sit at my desk! Pure joy is what it gave me, as if God has sent an angel to me personally for encouragement. How blessed am I!
Emma is one of many such precious children we serve at Hope House and a huge reason most of us work there. The opportunity to serve these smallest of His people is not to be missed. In discussions of social justice, social service reductions and responsibility issues; what is left is that many of the adults we are trying to teach and hold accountable are parents of these precious angels. When we cut services to adults, we often leave children out in the cold as well. Somehow, we need to make allowances and learn to teach adults without punishing their children with them.
It’s a fine line and I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I hope we can start the dialogue in an attitude of love and respect. Perhaps our wonderful new Pope, known for his concern for the poor, can be a guide for our Churches outreach.
In the meantime, I’ll keep my door open for hugs from Emma!
