It's All in the Fruit

Two kids with so little,
find enough joy to share.
Photo from St. Margaret's,
a school for very special kids in the U.K.

Rich soil, grade A seeds,
optimum conditions, best of care: 
meager harvest disappoints.
But when cut-rate seeds in soil so bad
it's an embarrassment,
survive through dismal weather, haphazard farming,
any yield at all is cause for excitement. 
How much more
when the fruit is abundant and sweet?
With people, too.
Some have the best, catch every break but
squander everything, leaving bitter aftertastes.
Others start with less than nothing,
bound to wheelchairs, thoughts locked inside.
Genuine smile, spark of recognition,
unabashed glee at the simplest thing:
sweet juice offered to quench the thirst
of all mankind. They have so much to teach us.
Asking why, demanding that God can't exist if
such as these are born, unseeing eyes don't
recognize the gift he gives each time
he lets one leave
his lap.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2012

If my little brother had lived past 10 days, he very probably would have been severely handicapped. Believing in eternity, I am content that I'll meet him one day, and even be grateful he was spared a lifetime of hardship. But I've also always missed him, always sensed the empty place where he might have been. Working with kids today who were perhaps as he might have been, I caught a glimpse of some of what I missed not having him around. A mixed bag - real, difficult challenges...but also profound moments of connection and joy. And I was just there for a few hours. Truly, the folks who are devoted to these kids are among the holiest of humans.