King Daniel

It seems like so few things in life can be reduced to black and white--people are complicated and most situations seem to be a mix of both good and bad. Sometimes it can feel long working with kids and watching them improve and digress, improve and digress... it can be easy to want black and white, right and wrong, clearly defined situations even though you know that such polarizations wouldn't really encompass the whole truth.

In the midst of such a fluid process of change and growth, every once and a while I'm surprised by a black-and-white, visible, undeniable moment that allows us to witness 100% improvement with a child. And I believe those moments should be shared :)

Daniel with his siblings and I working with a Team

I know a 6 year old boy named Daniel. One of the first times that I met Daniel was at a Bible class where we were handing out suckers as a reward for good behavior. I asked Daniel if he liked suckers, and he looked at me with the "if you don't know the answer to that question you must really be stupid" face that only 6 year olds can get away with and replied "Sarah, look at my teeth. Does it look like I like suckers?" and sassily showed me a mouth full of rotted out, black teeth. It's safe to say Daniel likes sugar :)

Up until this month, Daniel refused to smile for pictures because he was ashamed of his teeth. He was also in danger of never having healthy permanent teeth because of how bad his baby teeth were. Daniel's mom didn't have enough money for the treatment that he needed. Through child sponsorship we were able give Daniel's family a scholarship for 85% of the cost
of the treatment. The day after his first visit to the dentist Daniel's brother came running to the Bible school to tell me I had to see Daniel's teeth--they looked beautiful. As I was talking with his brother, I saw Daniel round the bend coming to the Bible school. I called at him from a block away "King Daniel! Look at you, Mr. Handsome! Come on, show me those beautiful white teeth!" Daniel came running towards me flashing his beautiful white smile all the way. When he got to me he shoved his smile in my face and proudly proclaimed that he already showed his new teeth off to all of his neighbors.

Daniel isn't ashamed to smile anymore and finally feels like the little king I always tell him he is. The dentist said the treatment will save his adult teeth so his smile will go on shining for the rest of his life. God loves Daniel and saw how much help he needed for his teeth long before we did. He brought Daniel and his sponsors together and used that beautiful friendship to restore Daniel's teeth changing them from black to white. Just like God saw Daniel's visible, physical need he also sees into our hearts to know what each of us needs even in situations that are very much grey and complicated. And just like God had a plan for fixing Daniel's teeth, he has a plan to restore each of our hearts to him. And that black and white promise gives me more than enough hope to sit in the grey situations; I hope it does the same for you.