Mady was having a hard time at her new school. It’s always tough being the new kid in the 4th grade in a big school, but moving in the middle of the year is the worst. Mady had one best friend who had decided that she did not want to be friends anymore. The girls began leaving her out and talking behind her back. She felt so alone and so isolated. She begged incessantly, “Mommy, please don’t make me go to school today.” She had stomach aches that lasted for days at a time.
There were only 5 days left in the school year and many fun events that Mady didn’t want to miss, but there was concern that she wouldn’t be able to make through much more emotional and physical distress. I was doing my best to support her. I had promised rewards if she could get through the day. I took her out of school for lunch one day per week. I rubbed her back while she cried and told her what an awesome little girl she was. I prayed for her without ceasing.
But one morning after several horrible nightmares, she woke up completely defeated and without energy to continue. I made her get dressed and ready for school, but she couldn’t eat anything. I prayed for wisdom. I decided to take Mady to her favorite place to eat breakfast, Bob Evans. On the way to the restaurant, I began what I hoped was my most inspirational and supportive speech. Tears were flowing freely down Mady’s cheeks. My speech wasn’t working, so I just said “Mady, I feel like God just wants to give you a big hug right now.”
We went inside to eat and a kind hostess seated us. She glanced at Mady’s tear-stained face and gave me a questioning glance. I explained briefly that Mady was having some trouble with some girls at school and that we were here to ‘trouble-shoot’. Bob Evans has a little area in the front of the store where they sell a variety of collectibles and stuffed animals. A pink little stuffed pig with dreamy big eyes caught Mady’s attention as we walked toward our seats. She pointed it out to me. We ordered our food and Mady asked if she could just go see the pig, so we did. The kind hostess watched Mady hug the pig tightly to her chest and asked me how many extra chores a gift like that might cost a child. I smiled and replied by telling Mady that we already have too many stuffed animals. We do not need anymore.
We went back to our seats and as the food arrived, Mady decided, that if she had that pig, she would call her “Izzy”, short for Isabella. We finished our breakfast and Mady asked to see the pig again, but as we walked to the store entrance, we saw that it was gone. She looked and saw it was sitting up by the cash register.
The kind receptionist walked toward us and said that she would like to buy the pig for Mady. She explained that she talks to her granddaughter about doing kind acts for others. She wanted to show this kindness for Mady. I politely refused, but she gently insisted. As she placed the pig in Mady’s open arms I noticed her name tag read “Paula”. Paula asked Mady what she was going to name the pig and Mady told her “Izzy, short for Isabella”. Paula placed her hand over her heart and said “That’s my granddaughter’s name”.
All involved knew that this was no coincidence. As Mady went around the counter to hug Ms. Paula, she got that big hug from God. She knew that she was not alone. She went to school. She had a good day. We made it through the year. And now Mady looks for opportunities to “pay it forward” by doing kind acts for others.
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