This is the story of a little girl and her pet donkey.
The little girl loved the miniature donkey from the moment he arrived at her farm. She spent hours in the pasture brushing his mane and feeding him the apple cores that she saved in a special bowl marked with his name, Daddy Donk.
One day, Daddy Donk started limping. The little girl’s momma called the vet. The vet thought he sprained his ankle and asked the little girl to keep an eye on her friend. But, Daddy Donk kept getting worse. He started having more trouble walking. The little girl knew her friend was sick and in pain but she didn’t know what else to do.
One evening, her neighbor, Mr. Warren, drove by and saw the donkey limping and called the little girl’s momma with an offer to help. Mr. Warren and his daughter came over with his trailer and they loaded up Daddy Donk to take to their house where they had a special area for him to stay so that his leg could heal.
Another vet came by and took an x-Ray of Daddy Donk’s leg. His injury was caught just in time and could be treated. Mr. Warren and his daughter went out every day and cared for Daddy Donk’s injured foot. They fed him from their own horse’s food supply and they tenderly helped him heal.
The little girl and her momma would go and visit Daddy Donk at Mr. Warren’s home. He always perked up when the little girl was around and would nuzzle his head into her side lovingly.
Finally, the time came when Daddy Donk was well enough to come home. He had left on a trailer because he couldn’t walk but, now, his foot was all better and he walked all the way home. The little girl ran to see her friend and wrapped her arms around him in joy. She walked alongside him all the way home and hugged Mr. Warren and his family and thanked them for taking such good care of her friend.
The loud voices of this world tell us we should exert our valuable energy drawing lines in the sand. No matter what the current issue is, we are told to pick a side and then to resolutely stand firm on that side with arms crossed and ears closed. Social media and news reports do their part to fuel the flame of anger. Soon enough, we look around and are surrounded by a forest fire of lies and deception.
But, there’s always more to the story.
When we turn off the noise and step outside our door, we meet the Mr. Warrens of the world. The ones who, asking nothing in return, graciously give of their time, resources and energy to help a little girl’s pet donkey. The helpers are out there. The peacemakers are out there. The kind and generous and thoughtful ones are out there. Even now. Even when the world wants us to believe that we have nothing in common with anyone beyond our own doorstep.
Even still. We have one another. We can be for one another.
Let’s all be a Mr. Warren to someone today.