Faith Bound

Child Sponsorship Programs, Like a Tree Planted Near Streams of Water

Posted by Brian Hey, OFS on Apr 28, 2016 11:49:06 AM

My friends and I really liked to spend time in the field and woods that were only about three blocks away from my childhood neighborhood. We were outside no matter the weather. There was an old oak tree that made it through every season, windblown and gnarled.

One summer day, when I was only six years old, a couple of big teenagers played a sly trick on me. They roped and tied me to that tree. They told me that they would leave me there alone, and they did just that.

Ankles, wrists and body wrapped up, I used the tree to release myself, pushing and pulling. As if the tree was helping me get loose, I struggled opening the knots and finally dropped down from the sturdy old branch.

tree_uganda_includes_attribution.jpgThe lofty branches of these ancient trees on the Stella Maris Boarding School campus in Uganda provide welcome shade. This is one of the locations of CARITAS For Children's Catholic child sponsorship programs.

Walking back to the neighborhood, I saw those teenagers all having a big laugh. It was all a big joke and I laughed along with them. We had plenty of pranks with our friends in the neighborhood, we didn’t take everything seriously.

That oak tree in the field had a baseball diamond nearby, campfires, creek water, lots of young kids talking and laughing, plenty of memories. That was when I was only six years old, when we still had farms nearby.

Fifteen years later, residential development pushed away the farms, field and woods. However, that old oak tree still remained, bringing back memories of joy, celebration, even liberation. Revisiting that same place after all those years, I noticed the acorns on the ground. This reminded me of a passage in the first psalm:  “He is like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:3 NASB)

With CARITAS For Children’s Catholic child sponsorship programs, supporting a child in need is like that living tree – starting as an acorn and prospering, spiritually growing along with the child. It’s a consistent renewal of life and of having the joy of being there.

Imagine the gifts and feelings you’ll have when sponsoring a child in Africa or the Caribbean. Throughout the years that child’s love will be there to grow alongside you, the sponsor. For that, the child you sponsor will be grateful not to be tied to any kind of tree. Find out more about our  Child Sponsorship Programs

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