Teenagers DO Notice Little Things!

During Lent, it is not unusual for me to get in a purge mode, giving away as much as I can. I am very blessed to live quite close to Dr. Simone's ministry, Canadian Food for Children. The organization receives all sorts of things and ships them to third world countries.

Last week with great determinism, I was packing bags full of clothing, shoes, small pieces of furniture and boxes full of household goods. After spending a week in the Dominican Republic, and witnessing how poor people in third world countries live, I was given the grace to be more mindful of the poor. God gave me a very strong nudge to give whole lot more. 

I was putting all the bags and boxes by the front door and asked my teenage son to load the car last Friday. Suddenly, he screams loudly from the dining room and says,

 "MOM, What are you doing? 
                         What have you done?"

My daughter eventually piped in on what turned out to be a family crisis. The three of us got into a mildly heated debate.

Here's what happened:

Almost twenty years ago, my husband and I got this frame as a wedding gift.

Since it was a wedding gift, I had a wedding photo enlarged to fit  into the frame.

And so it sat on an antique table in our dining room for twenty years.  While I loved the combination of this photograph of my husband and I in this particular frame, I honestly didn't think anyone had noticed it. This year, I thought it was time to dismantle the piece, put the photograph into the album and give the frame away! 

Dr. Simone's ministry is a Catholic faith filled ministry, so I thought by putting a photograph of Pope Benedict into the frame, it would bring a smile on to someone's face and find a new welcoming home. So, here's what I did, before I put it into the box with the giveaway items.

Well, neither of my teenage kids liked the idea of parting with that wedding photograph at all. In fact, they were quite disturbed by the very thought. Both my son and daughter went to great lengths, with all earnestness to tell me how I just could NOT do that. They wanted that wedding picture of their mother and father -- in  BACK in THAT frame.

It touched me so very much to hear their hearts plea with me. I was so very touched to know that they noticed, that they cared. Their conviction gave me reason to reflect on the reality that if a simple photograph means so much to them, our marriage must mean so much more!

I know that sounds so obvious, but it hit me today...

Teenagers, while they might not say it, they DO notice not just the little things, but the big things too!

I pondered this in my heart with much gratitude!

Look what I have got back on in my dining room! And now, it means all that much more!