Compassionate Natalie

Natalie is crazy! Crazy in an amusing and very good way. She is the most compassionate and sympathetic person I have ever known. True, she is a bit emotional and a bit dramatic with a lot of things, but she cares about others in such areal way it amazes me at only 18 months old.
Several weeks ago, my parents came to visit and my mom had a scrape on her leg that was healing up okay but was still very visible. When Natalie saw it, her face became concerned, she started to fake cry, and she kept saying "Nana, cape" - which means Nana has a scrape. Now that may not be too unusual, but every night before bed, we ask Natalie what she wants to pray for, and every night since then, she always wants to pray for Nana's scrape on her "yeg" (leg)!

Like I said, Natalie is a bit dramatic when she "bonks" or gets a scrape, but it is even worse if Jamie or I get hurt. About a week ago, I got a bad sunburn and it hurt to have Jamie put lotion on it. Natalie happened to witness the situation and she just broke down crying and saying "Daddy, owie". We have found that we have to hide it when we stub our toes, or accidentally smash our fingers, etc. other wise we spend several minutes comforting Natalie and assuring her that everything is OK!

The most touching one for me though, was the other day when we were leaving to go somewhere. She asked if she could bring her monkeys in the car for the ride. There are two monkeys that seem to be inseparable most of the time - a brown one and a pink one. We told her that we could take the pink one in the car but none of the other animals. She immediately got a very concerned look on her face, furrowed her brow, and walked over to the stroller where her brown monkey was. Then, in a very cute but heartbreaking voice, she looked at her brown monkey and said "Sowwy...sowwy" (Sorry) and walked over to the door with a very sad look on her face! That was the first time she has said "sorry" at all, and she was sensitive enough to think that splitting her monkeys apart might hurt the brown monkey's feelings.

I guess I am just amazed at how sensitive she is to other people (and stuffed animals) already. I think that God has given her a great deal of awareness and compassion for others. She just amazes me. May God continue to nurture and increase that gift and show her how to use it best for Him!