The year was 1995.  I followed closely behind the cart my mom was pushing through the many Zellers aisles.  My little sister sat in the front – her feet dangling down, and my brother and I quietly admired all the treasures the large department store had to offer.  With no fitbit to count our steps, it is hard to say – but my ten-year-old mind was quite certain we had been walking for miles! 

We finally found ourselves at the back of the store in the sporting department where a large sign hung above the service desk which read, “Coloring Contest!”  

The project: a large coloring sheet with black velvet in the darkened areas (any child of the 90’s will know exactly what I’m talking about). 

The prize: a brand-new bike!

To be honest, I don’t remember being as excited about the prospect of getting a new bike as I was about the prospect of getting something out of our grand family trip to Zellers – a giant coloring page.  My Mom bought 2 kits for my brother and I and our Saturday’s journey to the store was complete. 

I spent the next several days meticulously coloring every inch of that poster.  I used my newest markers and I never went out of the lines.  I gave it my very best. 

Weeks passed and although I was certain that no child could have colored anything quite as beautiful as the page I had submitted . . . I did not really think I would actually win a bike.  Then came the day of the phone call.  My Mom walked from the kitchen into the living room where I was playing with my siblings on the brown berber carpet to give us the exciting news – I had won!

Now up until the age of ten, I had been riding the same banana seat blue angel cruiser I had got for Christmas when I was five years old, and my parents finally decided it was time for an upgrade.  We went bike shopping and I had just got a new purple 10 speed only a few months earlier.  It almost seemed silly to be getting another one.  My brother on the other hand was still riding his first bike with peeling paint and a chain that was constantly falling off.  I remember my mom sitting next to me on the piano bench softly suggesting that I let my brother have the new bike, but reassuring me that it was still my choice as I had won the contest.

“Of course!” I responded.  I already had a new bike, so it only made sense for my brother to have one too.  It would make our bike rides together so much better and I wouldn’t have to stop to wait for him to catch up or help fix his chain.  It was a win/win situation in my mind – now we both had new bikes! 

Fast forward 27 years and I was talking to my mom on the phone about getting our oldest daughter who is ten a new bike for her birthday.  She jokingly suggested that all I needed to do was have her win a coloring contest, then added that she had recently come across the winning piece of art while cleaning out the basement a few weeks ago. 

I pondered since on the experience and thought to myself – oh how things have changed! 

What if the stakes were a little higher and I was a little older? 

What if someone told me that if I did my very best to color a picture, I could win a new car! Or I could win a trip! Or I could win a house!

As much as I hate to say it, I’m not so sure the adult version of myself would be quite as gracious.  Would I say, “oh thank you so much but I already have a car that works and gets my family where they need to be, why don’t you give it to my neighbor who doesn’t have one” or “I have already been on a trip, why don’t you let someone else go” or “I have a beautiful house, please give it to the homeless.”  Or would I say, “I used my newest markers and I never went out of the lines.  I gave it my very best and I earned the prize.  You can find me in Hawaii, thank you!”

Now I don’t know what the chances are of me winning a car or a trip or a house in this lifetime.  But I do know that I have been given so many other gifts and when put to the test, I am not always as eager and willing to just give my brother the new bike so to speak.    

Let me share with you a second story to illustrate my point.  My husband is an incredibly kind and giving man who was recently called as the mission leader in our ward.  He thrives on the opportunity to serve and share the gospel with others and is very generous with his time and resources.  Through these efforts he was connected with a woman named Linda.  Linda is a middle aged woman from China who has experienced many challenges in her life.  Her current situation saw her in the middle of a difficult divorce, moving to a new house and a new town, unemployment and unwanted distance from her children.  She was quite alone and quite in need of help. 

Over the weeks and months since meeting Linda, Bryan would do everything he could to help her navigate legal papers and appointments, clean and pack her home, drive her to activities, service her vehicle, set up utilities for her new residence and more.  I’ve met Linda several times and she is a lovely woman, but I found myself starting to resent the amount of time my husband was sacrificing from his family to serve this woman we hardly knew. 

This all culminated for me over a week ago on Father’s Day Sunday when she messaged Bryan to ask for some help.  If there is any day we want to spend as a family of girls with the one man in our lives – it is Father’s Day.  I suggested that my husband tell her it was not the best day to come over and ask if another day would work.  She didn’t need much and my husband waited until the girls were in bed to help her, yet I still found myself slightly irritated by the situation.  Why?

A few days later and completely out of no where, my sweet four year old daughter said to me, “I feel so sad for Linda because she doesn’t have a husband – who will she spend Valentines Day with?”  In an instant my heart completely softened and everything changed for me.  The question was simple, but it poignantly reminded me of everything I have been given. 

I have a new bike…so it only makes sense for my sister to have one too. 

I have since found myself in prayer asking my Father in Heaven to bless me with the gift of charity that comes so naturally to my husband and daughter.  I have wondered what happened to the 10-year-old me who was so desirous for my brother to experience the same joy and happiness I felt in owning a new bike?  I thought of the words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon when he taught the people to “become as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient and full of love.”

The innocent and childlike compassion shown by my sweet little Brooklyn reminded me of the words of the well-known hymn:

Because I have been given much,
I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty Lord,
Each day I live;
I shall divide my gifts from thee
With every brother that I see
Who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed
By thy good care;
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share;
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
my roof’s safe shelter overhead
That he too may be comforted.

And so as I carry on day by day, I am trying harder to see everyone around me as I saw my younger brother so many years ago, as Brooklyn sees our friend Linda and ultimately as the Savior sees each one of us – fellow children of God. Brothers and sisters, all in need of love, compassion, patience, forgiveness and maybe even at times . . . a brand new bike!