Great kids fly from stable bows

If Press Christmas for All reaches its lofty goal this year, we can all thank the kids.

A number of children have donated to the program, which is attempting to raise $200,000 to help needy Kootenai County families trying to throw off the shackles of poverty and become more self-sufficient.

While the gifts from children aren’t in the same league as donations from corporations and families with the wherewithal to make a huge impact — you know, people like Anonymous in Athol! — the young ones’ generosity transcends larger contributions in several ways.

One is that when you think about your childhood, how willing were you to work hard and raise money for a local charity? For some of us (ahem; face turning red), the thought wouldn’t cross our mind unless we were going door to door for UNICEF.

As a kid, when you had a significant chunk of cash in your hand — no matter the source — how willing were you to selflessly give it away? (Ahem again.) How motivated were you to make life better for neighbors you might never meet, without the joy of having them know that it was you who brightened that person’s or family’s otherwise dark holiday?

Anonymous gifts of any size are greatly appreciated. One of the hardest things to do is commit an act of kindness and generosity without ever receiving the tangible reward you’ve clearly earned, be it a big hug or a grateful tear. Yet children in our community are making these sacrifices for Press Christmas for All, and they’re doing it with big smiles on their happy faces.

These benevolent acts inspire many of us who left childhood behind long ago. If the kids can do this, we reason, what excuse can we have? In their honor, we feel compelled to try to stand as tall as they do.

Of course, these incredible youngsters don’t get that way by accident. In every instance we’re aware of, these generous little donors come from parents who have their priorities straight and have instilled in their progeny the traits that matter most in life.

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"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable." — Kahlil Gibran