How to Change the World One Small Smile at a Time!

When I went to that Mercy Me concert eight years ago, I wasn’t planning on falling in love.

I was just a weary thirty-one-year-old mama looking for a night out with my husband and hoping to snag some inspiration in the process.

My Romeo was singing at the top of his lungs right beside me and my three little ones were at home with a babysitter tucked safely in their beds.

My heart wasn’t empty by any means. 

But by the end of the concert, it was broken. 

 My heart was broken for a curly-haired little girl in the Dominican Republic who wore a faded red dress fancy enough for a princess and stared into the camera without a smile.

My heart was broken for a faceless mother not unlike me who dreamed of more for her red-dressed darling than an endless battle against poverty’s wiles.

My heart was broken for a faceless mother who longed for something that would restore her sweet princesses’ smile.

As someone on stage shared about the ministry of Compassion International, I tried to imagine my own  tutu-twirling, bling-bling-bearing girl without a smile stretched across her white pixie face.

I tried to picture my own daughter without a glimmer of glee in her big baby blues.

But I couldn’t.

My daughter had countless reasons to smile.  Unlike the little girl in the faded red dress.

Before the last song was sung, I’d figured out that if twice a month we gave up our Sunday night habit of ordering pizza, we could glean thirty dollars from our tight budget.  Exactly the amount it takes each month to sponsor a child through Compassion.

Two more nights of cooking for me. A month of food and clothing and schooling for the little girl in the faded red dress. It seemed like an obvious trade-off.

The stage lights dimmed and the Compassion spokesman closed his presentation in prayer, then walked off of the platform.

We sat in hushed darkness waiting for Mercy Me to return for the second half of their concert.

But even before the flood lights illuminated the stage, the light of love had invaded my heart.

Perhaps we were the ones who could restore the sparkle to the eyes of that sad little girl in the faded red dress.

Perhaps we could give her a reason to smile.

As I lifted my hands in praise and sang along with the band’s noisy worship, I had no idea of the  smiles that one little girl in the faded red dress would elicit in return.

Back home, we hung Berenice’s picture on the refrigerator right next to the framed photos of our nieces and nephews, and we enlisted our children in our mission of love.

We wrote letters.

And we prayed.

We scoured stores for tiny gifts that we could slide into envelopes headed for the Dominican Republic.

 And we prayed.

We celebrated Berenice’s graduation from preschool.

And we prayed.

We learned about her family– her mom and dad and eight brothers and sisters.

And how she helped out in her crowded home.

We discovered what she liked to do– play with dolls and listen to music;
and we found out about her favorite holiday traditions.

And we prayed.

Our smiling princess at 5 years old

We asked God to keep poverty from defining this sweet little girl, begged the King of Kings to let Berenice grow in understanding of her true identity in Christ.

Remind Berenice that she is a princess, Lord, I would pray as my own little girls paraded about the house in their Disney gowns and poppy-bead pearls.

Remind our sweet girl that her faded clothes are of no importance in the light of your unfading love. 

Remind her that she is Your child, an heir to your royal kingdom, cherished and treasured just as she is. 

We prayed and wrote out monthly checks and discovered that homemade pizza was just as good as ordering out.

 And when we spent thirty-dollars on a family trip to the gym or on a hurried drive through a fast-food lane, we marveled at how the same amount each month could rescue one small child from poverty’s merciless claws.

Berenice today- 12 years old!

Then, just one year after we’d opened our hearts to the sad little girl in the faded red dress, we received a Compassion envelope with a brand new picture inside.

A picture of a five-year-old in a soft blue dress.

A smiling little girl in a fancy blue princess dress with a faded Tinkerbell tattooed on the front.

I stared at that smiling girl who had broken my heart and infused it with hope all at once, and I knew without a doubt that our prayers were being answered.  

God was restoring His princess to her rightful identity.

Berenice is twelve years old now.

She looks more like a little lady than a little girl.

But the one thing that doesn’t change as she grows is that brilliant, hope-filled smile.

Berenice doesn’t hang on our fridge alone these days.

Right next to her school photo hangs a picture of Jorge, our second child by sponsorship.

Jorge

And next to him, hangs Brittney, our most recent eight-year-old joy.

Brittney

We dream of meeting these precious gifts  one day.

We’d love to join one of Compassion’s tours to the Dominican Republic and wrap our arms around these sweet ones just as we’ve wrapped our hearts around their lives.

But if that day never dawns,
if our hands never hold theirs,
 we know that we’ll have eternity to marvel together at the  beautiful story God is choosing to write with our humble lives and our meager offerings.

To be honesty, when I glance at those pictures on the fridge, I wonder who is receiving the greater gift….

Three children in the Dominican Republic growing strong despite poverty,
or one family of seven growing closer to the heart of Jesus as He we fall in love with the ones He loves.

We cannot change the whole world, but we can change the world for one child. 

We cannot end the tyranny of despair, but we can give one child a reason to smile.

And who knows how the world will be changed one sparkling smile at a time? 

It’s blogging month at Compassion International and I’m thrilled to share about this organization that I love. 

Though over 1 million children have been sponsored through Compassion’s amazing programs, countless more are waiting for a sponsor. 

What if they didn’t have to wait any longer?

What if today you chose to be the answer to their prayers? 

And when you let your heart be broken for the least of these, what if you discover that the child who waits for your yes is  the answer to your prayers, too. 

Visit their sweet faces here  and start changing the world one smile at a time.

Need more reasons why you should sponsor a child? Check out my friend Amy’s compelling list!

The Overflow:“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sistersof mine, you did for me.’” 
                                                                -Matthew 25:40

Sharing in community with Jennifer at Getting Down With Jesus

And with lovely Ann as we consider the habits we wear….

 What if COMPASSION were our most compelling fashion statement?