The Child is Lost - More Seeds of Hope

For I was hungry and you gave me food,I was thirsty and you gave me drink…

The Queen lost track of her child. The palace staff could not find the little one. No one was quite sure how it happened, but the girl was clearly missing and could not be found in the castle. The child was but 3 years old and had wandered off. Despite her royal upbringing, the child was not yet able to speak.

The daughter had no fear. She delightfully crawled through the mud of a stream bank near the castle, and rolled down a grassy hillside. She no longer looked like royalty.

Hungry and tired, the girl toddled into a poor village. Making her way down the street, a wagon driver shouted at her to get out of the road. This upset her. She saw people eating and went over to them. She motioned that she was hungry, but the adults at the table told her to go home and get her own food. She began to cry.

Others saw this vulnerable child and took her hand to comfort her. They fed her, gave her something to drink, and cleaned her up. They noticed that her mud-stained clothes were actually fine garments. When they heard the news that the Queen’s daughter was missing, they brought her to the castle.

The Queen was overjoyed. She said, “Whatever you have done for my little one, you have done for me.”

The people who had helped the child responded, “My queen, we would have done this for any child.”

It is easy to imagine that those people would be greatly rewarded by the Queen.

When we think a bit more about the story, we begin to understand that the people received another, more immediate reward as well. It is what happens to us when we help others.

Imagine what they felt inside when they saw this distressed girl stop crying, calm down, and begin to eat. The feeling from coaxing a child from tears to laughter should not be underestimated. We feel blessed and alive when we get to help people.

During this Lenten season, we are all surrounded by people who are lost, or in need of comfort, or hungry for something positive, or imprisoned by their circumstances.

When we help others, we don’t have to wait until God says, “Good job. You have done this for me.” The reward for helping others is today. Do something kind and notice how you feel afterwards.

Bless your day by helping someone else. You won’t need to look far. Opportunities to help arrive at your doorstep.

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

What can you do today to bring love more fully into the world?

Written by Tom Sparough

Dramatized by Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ

Produced by Nathaniel Stubblefield

Copyright 2022 by Heart to Heart, A Catholic Media Ministry Inc.