Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, Jr shows us the touching story of a son who woke up to a dead mother, and how he was inspired to grow from it.
_________
By Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, Jr.
A 6-year old orphan named Jaden has taken up residence in my soul.
Jaden’s father died when Jaden was four and then one morning this summer, Jaden went into his mother’s bedroom to find that she had died unexpectedly in her sleep.
“I tried and I tried and I tried to get her awake — I couldn’t,” Jaden told Steve Hartman on the CBS Evening News. “Anybody can die, just anybody,” Jaden said with sadness.
Jaden came to live with his aunt, now guardian, Barbara DiCola. As she tucked Jaden into bed one night he told her that he was tired of seeing everyone sad all the time. She told him to sleep on it and come up with a plan. He woke her at 5 the next morning saying he wanted to go into the streets of nearby Savannah, Georgia, and approach people who seemed sad. He would try to put a smile on their face by giving them candy or toys. So, equipped with rubber duckys and dinosaurs, this past summer, Jaden spent several days in sweltering August humidity bringing smiles to smile-less strangers.
[Watch Jaden explain his mission]
“I’m trying to make people smile,” said Jaden about his successful forays turning strangers’ days around. People erupt in joy that a six-year-old orphan gives them a toy expecting nothing in return except a smile. His aunt reports that in addition to receiving an abundance of hugs that the reactions have done wonders for Jaden.
“It’s like sheer joy came out of this child,” said Aunt Barbara. “And the more people that he made smile, the more his light shone.”
The wisdom of Jaden’s mission leads him to add, “But I’m still sad my mom died.”
Just as Jaden occupies a special place in my soul, I’ve found that other luminaries like Pope Francis, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Maya Angelou, and certain others live in that same special neighborhood inside me. What all these people have in common is that though they are not a child like Jaden, these other spiritual leaders have maintained their childlike joy and wonder. Each of them holds both the events that made them sad along with their work that makes others joyful. Life has broken their hearts but at the same time, they live to make others feel whole through love. They are all “wholemakers through love.”
There are a million reasons all of us could give up on love. And yet, those who inspire and transform us are the ones who know that death, sadness, injustice, violence and exclusion in the world do not have the last word. Like Jaden they – and we – can do something that brings joy where there were tears. They show us that we can give love and wholeness to those who are burdened. We can give away — free of charge — the most valuable thing in the world – kindness.
Jaden and those inspiring leaders are creating a new story-line that goes beyond the despair. All of us have a responsibility to re-tell our story in a way that is life-giving rather than paralyzing. Like Jaden, we do not have to deny our sadness. The losses in our lives are real. But that is not our whole story. Our whole story is that we can count on Love to give us life and to free us from a “me-orientation” to life. Our real story is that life is truly found when we are “we-oriented,” when the story-line of our lives is about bringing blessing and smiles to others.
I believe that God and Love and We-mindedness are all the same thing. You may not believe in God; I’m OK with that. But I promise you this: you can believe in and count on the power of Love. You can believe in the power of We-ness. You can believe that there is an Energy in the Universe that is making everything Whole. You can stake your life on that. And when you let that be the secure base on which you build your story, you will be used by Love and Wholeness and We-ness (and I would add, God) to bring healing, wholeness and joy to others who are burdened.
Watch the journey of this 78-year old child-like man dressed in a white cassock and skull cap – the man we call Pope Francis. Every time he meets or addresses people of political power and financial wealth, he insists on also visiting people in prison, people living in poverty, people scarred by marginalization. Watch how he brings smiles to their faces as he embraces them and communicates to them that they are just as valuable as the President.
Then ask yourself, “What is the story-line of his life?” I promise you, somewhere along the way he committed himself to a narrative of bringing blessings to those who feel unlovely and discounted. Let’s join him and Jaden and others in occupying the neighborhood of Wholemakers – of those who stake their lives on Love.
________
Photo credit: Getty Images
Thank yuo Jaden for sharing your light. This article brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face!