The Story of Bronson and Kade and The True Meaning of the Word Charity

What does the word Charity mean to you?  As I study the Bible and learn of Jesus Christ, I have learned that Charity is the love of Jesus Christ.  Of looking at others and seeing them how Christ would see them and loving them how Christ would love them.  This year at school Bronson has demonstrated Charity to such a level that the teachers and principal at his school have taken note and recently decided that he needed to be recognized with a special award at an assembly.

Each year at the beginning of the year, the principal at Bronson's school reads the students a book about filling other's "buckets" with kindness and not dipping out of their buckets with unkind words or negativity.  She told the students that as they showed kindness to others, they would receive a "ticket" that they could put their names on and place them in a bucket.  At Christmastime, they would draw names out of the bucket to win prizes!

  She also taught them about Autism and told them about a little boy that would be joining their class who was born with a severe form of Autism.  She talked to them about how sounds can seem especially loud to Kade and about how different situations can bring extreme levels of anxiety.  Kade doesn't have verbal skills and can't communicate like the other kids.

Bronson came home that day especially touched and concerned.  He taught our family everything he had learned about autism.

Perhaps, a week later Bronson was on the playground playing basketball with his friends.  Kade had wandered away from his aide and started twirling around the basketball post where they were playing.  The aide tried to get him to come back and away from the game to leave the boys alone, but he kept coming back.  Bronson said he realized at that point that he thought that Kade might be indicating that he would like to play, so Bronson brought him the ball.  Kade kicked it away.  Instead of letting that bother or scare him, Bronson picked up the ball and brought it to Kade again and let him kick it again and continued this game until the end of recess.  He could tell that Kade had enjoyed their game.

So... from that time forward EVERY day from the beginning of the year continuing on Bronson goes out to recess and looks for Kade.  He finds ways to play with Kade that Kade seems to really enjoy.

At parent teacher conference earlier in the year, I was met by the SPED teacher and she told me that she was overcome with gratitude with the love that Bronson had shown Kade.  She said that she had never seen anything like it.

As Christmas approaches this year, it was time for the assembly to draw names out of the buckets for prizes.  Bronson's school secretary called me and asked if we could be at the school to support Bronson as he received a "special" award created by the teachers to acknowledge his kindness.

Bronson had no idea that we were coming and when he saw us sitting there as he walked in, his look was beyond priceless.  As the assembly went on and his name wasn't drawn for any awards, he was really wondering why we were there.

Then this happened:

In the video, the principal shares a picture of Bronson and Kade sliding down a slide holding hands.  She told a story from Kade's mother, where she shared that Kade had not gone down a slide since he was two and was so scared that he would not go down again.  She was so surprised when she was sent the photo of him going down the slide and was so happy that Bronson was there to hold his hand.

We love this boy of ours and everything that he is teaching us about what it means to be Christlike.  And though my other kids don't receive rewards, I know that they are finding ways to be like their Savior too.  It is my aspiration to be worthy to be these kids mom and to learn from them and try to follow their examples.  It overwhelms me the sacred nature of raising these choice spirits.