A Broken Smile

The little boy that came in with his new foster mom was about 4. He arrived at his new home with baggage that you can't put in a suitcase and without clothes. So, she visited us.

He's an adorable little boy but we noticed right away that he didn't smile. He played quietly and didn't talk. There was none of the rambunctious activity that you expect from a little boy this age.

Our youth director showed him a whole basket of cars and told him to pick some out to keep. He solemnly picked out a few and began playing on the floor. No noise. I gathered a few things which included a couple of handmade blankets from our friends at the Linus Project. After watching him and speaking with his foster mom I bent down and asked if he would like a blanket. I explained that it was brand new and made just for him. I also told him that it would be his own to keep for as long as he wanted.

He looked up at me and seemed interested but made no move. I asked if he liked purple or red like fire engines. He softly whispered that he liked red so I gave him that one. He sat there, on the floor holding the blanket and then put his new cars on top of it.

I told him it was nice to meet him and I hoped he would have lots of fun playing with the new cars and the blanket. Still no smile and no laughter. I asked if he was sure he liked the cars and that would could find something else if he didn't. (We would have given him the moon if he'd of said he liked that better!) He very slowly picked up a car and said that he did like them. I said that was great and that they were his very own cars to play with and keep. He seemed to like that.

Then, I asked if his smile was just broken today. He looked at me with those sad little eyes and slowly nodded his head "Yes".

I told him that it was ok to be sad sometimes and that maybe, with lots of love from people who this he's great, maybe we could fix his smile so it wouldn't be broken anymore. I asked how that sounded and if he thought that maybe someday his little smile would be fixed.

He looked up at me and slowly this four-year old shook his head "No."

He left clutching the blanket and with a new backback on his shoulders that contained all the toys and cars our youth director could fit into it, the clothes he and his new foster mom had come for and with our hearts wrapped around his finger - and his smile still broken.