?Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they will see God? ? Matthew 5:5 Like a lot of you, since the stay-at-home order was given, we haven't seen as much of our kids and grandkids. Although that has been hard, we are fortunate because we have actually been able to see them some! Early on, all our family decided to self-isolate for at least 2 weeks. After we hit that milestone (and actually went beyond it), we felt more comfortable to have walks together or have the kids come over to play in the backyard. But that created even harder moments because how do you keep a good social distance from a child who comes running to you for a hug or who wants to be picked up? I couldn't do it! I didn't want them to feel like I didn't love them or was rejecting them. A child's pure heart doesn't understand social distancing. Their hearts understand love, and they need to know their family always loves them no matter what. So we had to agree to become a family Quaran-Team, and trust we were all working to keep our families safe from the virus. Thus it was reasonably safe for us to get together for limited periods of time in an outside setting. On one of those visits, our eldest grandson was running barefoot in the backyard. Somehow he cut his toe. I don't think he realized it right away until he noticed he was bleeding. It was then that he got pretty upset and wanted the magic cure that only a band-aid can give! I ran for the peroxide and band-aids. With a little reassurance, Gramma helped clean and cover that cut and before long Warren had a smile back on his face. Mom had to be the main hugger, but at least I could show Warren love in other ways! This experience is what Warren drew about when he was asked how his grandparents have helped him during a difficult time. He drew a picture of himself sitting on the glider in our backyard getting his toe taken care of with nasty sharp stones underneath! During these difficult days, even though we can't see friends and family in the typical ways we have in the past, there are still a lot of opportunities to show God's love to one another. We can wave hello to a neighbor; make a phone call to someone who lives alone and hasn't had human touch in weeks; send a fun text to keep spirits up; and run an errand for someone who can't go themselves. The list is endless because the ways we can show God's love are endless. It's not only children who see God's love through little acts of kindness. God can use everything we have to give. No good deed is too little, so give when you can. You might just find yourself blessed beyond anything you could imagine! ? The Tompkins/Edwards Family
