I’m the first one to blog about a crime against children, always desiring to bring attention to this issue with the hopes of somehow doing this little something to either prevent, or to remedy, the situation.

Today I’ll be a bit more positive and link this story about third graders doing something good for the world, and I’ll point out that they are well on their way to learning the secret to a happy and fulfilling life.

The secret?

Quit worrying and fretting about your own self and do something for others. Find a need and fill it. My motivational heroes such as Norman Vincent Peale, Dennie Waitley, and Zig Ziglar extol the virtues, and the emotional boost, one gets from helping others.

I’m preaching to the choir though, because if you’re reading an adoption blog, I can only assume you are involved in adoption one way or another. Even if you’ve not personally adopted a child, I believe it is time to laud all the support members of a family that are also directly, or indirectly, affected, and others in the community who’ve supported the efforts of an adoptive family should also not go unnoticed.

Not everyone is set up emotionally to adopt children, especially older children. There’s not enough room, even on the internet, for me to acknowledge all those who’ve helped me along the way, I hope they internally realized the good they’ve done, and I pray that they benefited as well from knowing this.

There are no more than a gazillion ways to help others, a trillion organizations…get involved, do something…we can teach this to our children, pay it forward. Our children were amongst the fortunate, those who did get adopted. Sadly, not all children will have the benefit of growing up within a family although they all obviously deserve that chance.

I’ve been trying to teach my children to have a servant’s heart, to help others in need along the way, and subsequently my older kids often call to tell me of what they’ve done for someone, and how good it made them feel.

My darling son, Martin, the only normal one in a sib group of four very troubled children, adopted 8 years ago has earned a reputation at school for simply being nice. Back in elementary school another student’s parents had called the principal and requested that their son be in Martin’s class next year, since it appeared Martin was the only nice boy then in the fifth grade. This other child had some depression issues and Martin just always spoke so kindly to him that it was forever remembered and appreciated.

I get so busy here within my family that I often forget to even remember to smile at others at church, or out in public. Having a large, demanding family is still no excuse for me to not find ways to help others. My children watch me like a hawk, a visual reminder, and an example, of “normal” to them, having come from chaotic, unstable backgrounds.

I need to practice what I preach, put my words into action, remember I’m supposed to be the role model not just the nurturer, cook, laundress and dish washer.