My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: Daily Heartlight -- February 15, 2008

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\ / HEARTLIGHT(R) Magazine --

http://www.heartlight.org/
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February 15, 2008

Editor's Note:
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This week Phil is in Uganda, Africa with 15 other bloggers
who are seeing first-hand the work of Compassion International.

You can read the moving story of Phil personally meeting
Doreen, the little girl his family sponsors:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200802/20080213_doreen.html

He is posting updates from his trip on his blog:
http://blogs.heartlight.org/phil/

Please prayerfully consider taking part in this effort!
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

Snapshot, by Phil Ware

Every-once-in-awhile, a moment "happens" in our lives that captures
truth in a snapshot. When you hold that snapshot in your heart, it
becomes a window to something real and holy and precious. Jesus did
this with stories — we sometimes call these stories parables. Every
great communicator has a way of helping us do this. We also do this for
ourselves to help us remember emotionally-charged truth as more than
just a collection of facts and data bits.

At lunch yesterday, our group of bloggers went to an African hotel to
eat Chinese food with a bunch of people we had never met. Those
circumstances don't exactly sound like a recipe for social success.
This lunch, however, was unlike any of us had ever shared ... and it
was wonderful.

Several days earlier, I had been privileged to meet with the little
girl our family sponsors with Compassion. Her name is Doreen. Now, for
the first time, the rest of the group was getting to meet the child
their families were sponsoring. I had an idea what they would
experience, although each of these visits is as unique as the people
involved. They would dance the strange uncomfortable dance I did at
first with Doreen as we tried to get acquainted. Then they would share
gifts and find a way to communicate. Before long, they would lose their
hearts to these precious children. By the time lunch was over, none of
them would ever be the same. (Just let them tell their own stories and
you will see this is true: you can catch those by reading their blogs.)

What I was not prepared to experience was meeting an eleven year old
boy named Derrick. Derrick is the sponsored child of BooMama's brother.
He came along to meet BooMama, but of course she needed to bond with
her sponsored child, a precious little girl whom she held most of the
lunch. Derrick is a sweet boy, but in such a setting, he was naturally
shy. He would have missed out on much of the magic of this moment. So I
was privileged to step in and have lunch with Derrick.

Sophie (aka BooMama) had tried to explain to Derrick who her brother
and his family were and how it all fit. She spent some precious moments
with Derrick, but when Sophie's tiny little girl was presented to her,
it was time for me to try to get acquainted with Derrick and let her
have her special moment with her family's sponsored child.

So I stepped in ... well, stumbled in is probably more accurate. Now
Derrick was a master at one word answers to my questions. So we looked
at pictures of BooMama's now famous family. Then we tried drawing. Then
we looked at other gifts given to him in his gift backpack. Then we
talked about what Derrick wanted to be when he grew up — a mechanic. We
visited about his family — four brothers, a mother, and his father was
not alive. Then we ate and talked about food. He didn't eat a whole
lot.

There was still a lot of time left to fill, and I was running out of
options. It wasn't forced communication — it was pleasant and
comfortable — we just lacked that spark to really make things
memorable. Then, I noticed Derrick was interested in my camera. Bingo!
I quit taking pictures, and he started! We found that magic moment. A
sweet snapshot where Derrick's personality came alive.

He figured out the intricacies of the digital camera as if he had
designed it. Motion video, stills, looking at previous pictures,
framing pictures, and taking pictures ... He took lots of pictures. His
wonderful smile lit up our end of the table. He became more animated.
He moved all around our table taking pictures — in fact, all the
pictures on this page, and many more, were taken by Derrick!

Now isn't it your turn to have such a moment?

By the end of lunch, Derrick was having a blast playing with his soccer
ball or taking pictures or visiting with friends. Yet when all was said
and done, and as much as these moments were precious, none of these
moments was the snapshot of grace that I will treasure most. As we were
getting ready for the hard good-byes, Derrick and I hugged,
"high-fived," and then he looked at me with that wide smile and a
sparkle in his eyes and asked, "When are you coming back to see me?"

He had no idea how far away any of us lived. He just knew that all the
distance could collapse in a moment of grace, a digital camera, and a
little boy who found out that he was truly special to a number of
people from half a world away who would instantly love him.

What a holy moment! What a precious snapshot! What a privilege of grace
to get to experience it!

Now isn't it your turn to have such a moment?

You can change the life of a child, too!

Here's the link to become a monthly sponsor:
http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=Heartlight52051

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Daily Heartlight -- February 15, 2008