Thursday, February 5, 2015

The Parable of the Pink Gloves


As I watched two six or seven-year-olds walking toward the crosswalk this morning, I noticed the boy had on pink gloves and no coat while the girl had on a pink coat with her hands stuffed in her pockets. It was obvious she had given her gloves to him on the long walk to school. As they crossed the crosswalk, I listened to the conversation of the unlikely pair.

"Why don't you have your coat?" the little girl asked the boy. 
"I forgot it," the boy said.
"It's ok," the little girl replied. 

Then she did the sweetest thing I've ever seen. She took one of her hands from her pocket and put an arm around the boy's shoulders. As I watched the sweet scene of the boy in pink gloves and the girl with her warming arm walk across the crosswalk and toward the school, it got me thinking. How often do we keep on our "pink gloves" when we could be sharing them with others? We've got other ways to keep our hands warm. 

Are we willing to sacrifice some of our own comfort to help another? Not only did this sweet girl give up her gloves, but she took her warm and protected hand from her pocket to wrap her arm around the boy's shoulders to keep off some of the cold. 

If we take this analogy even further, what of the boy? The gloves were pink. Girly pink! And yet he accepted the help from the girl. Yes, his hands were cold, but many people would have suffered to protect their pride. This humble boy didn't. What about us? Do we turn aside help because of pride?Why can't we admit we need the help?  

I thought when I became an adult that I would be able to use my wisdom and knowledge to teach children and help them grow. Strangely, it's the children that I'm learning the greatest lessons. Every time I see a pair of pink gloves, I hope I'm reminded of this scene of a thoughtful girl and her gift of warmth.

2 comments:

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  2. Kids really are the best teachers sometimes. I love this story. Thanks for sharing!

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