The broken Toy

In that block lived a different child.

Netinho was born with a mental disability and couldn’t think or speak properly.

He usually sat at the gate, quietly, because he liked to watch the street and watch the children play.

And because he was different, many children rejected him, mistreating him, throwing stones at him or teasing him. Andrew, James, Peter and Alfred, especially friends acted like that.

Sometimes, hit by a stone, Netinho ran inside the gate, crying. His mother hugged him affectionately, looked at the boys and said:

- Why do you act like this with my son? What did he do to you?!...

One day, Mrs. Julia, Pedro's mother, passing by, saw the group of boys teasing Netinho. Cowered in a corner, his arms guarded his head, he cried, frightened. The lady came forward, full of compassion, hugged the boy, comforting him, and took him inside, delivering him to the mother's care. Then she returned, and without any criticism of the boys' behavior, she invited them to go and have some juice at her house. They accepted the invitation with satisfaction, very surprised that they had not taken the reprimand they had hoped for.

While preparing the juice, Pedro's mother gave them some toys to distract them: a guitar, a little cassette player, a little piano, some games and several other things. When she came back bringing the juice glasses, she asked laughingly:

- So, are you having fun?

The boys complained, disappointed:

- No way! It's all broken! The guitar has no strings - said James.

- And the cassette player cannot play music. It's without the batteries! - Said André.

- The little piano is out of tune and some keys are missing! - Grumbled Alfredo.

And Peter, outraged, exploded:

- That's right, Mom! You know these toys don’t work. In the games are missing parts and the electric train is broken... Nothing works!

Mrs. Julia sat down and, looking one by one, agreed:

- It is true. You are quite right. These toys do not work. But fortunately, it's the toys that are broken, not you. You should be grateful to God for this.

Without understanding, the boys asked:

- What do you mean?

With serenity, Mrs. Julia clarified:

- All of you were born perfect! You don’t have any difficulty to think and study easily, because your brains are flawless. And your bodies also work properly; their senses do not present any malfunction: you hear, speak, feel and see without any problem. You have hands and feet that move easily. Isn’t that great?

The children nodded, satisfied. Peter's mother continued:

- Have you ever wondered if one of you had been born blind? Or without an arm? Or without a leg, and could not walk?

- Ah! It would be awful! It is not good to think! - Said one of the boys.

Dona Julia agreed, continuing:

- Yes. But there are people who are not as happy as you are. They were born with some difficulty of expression in the body or in the mind, like a broken toy. Do you know anyone like that?

The boys remembered the boy they both teased.

- That's Netinho's case, isn’t it? - Someone asked.

- Exactly. Netinho was born with a problem in his head and that’s why he cannot express himself like everyone else. He, as spirit, is intelligent as you are, but cannot make the "machine", which is the body, work right. Do you understand?

- You mean he understands everything that goes on around him? - Asked Pedro.

- No doubt. He just can’t make other people to know that and he suffers a lot. Netinho deserves all our respect and affection. If God is a fair and good Father, and knows what is best for us, and has caused Netinho to be born with this problem, that suffering will be useful for his progress. She made a pause then concluded:

- Jesus said that "we should do unto others, what we would have others do unto us." So, if you were in Netinho's place, how would you like to be treated?

The boys, meditating on what they had heard, were ashamed, only now realized how they had been unfair to Netinho, each one reflecting that could have been them that have been "born" with a problem. The next day, there was a big change. Regretfully, the boys apologized to Netinho for all they had done to him. They began to talk to him, called him to play and accepted him as a friend. Satisfied and smiling, Netinho participated in everything, learned the games and showed that his difficulties were not as big as they seemed.

In this way, Netinho became a great companion for all of them.

*

The Spirit Doctrine tells us about the responsibility of parents towards their children, spirits entrusted to them by God, believing in their capacity as educators.

Especially the mother, whose presence is so necessary to the child, plays a leading role in the direction of this spirit, through the ethical-moral orientation, constant in the lessons that Jesus has bequeathed to us. In the home, the first school of the soul, all the essential contents for the growth and maturation of the child are found, especially through the example of the parents, preparing them to be a worthy and useful citizen in society in the future, knowing how to respect and love to his fellows as brothers.

To the Mothers, in the passage of their day, our best and sincerest tributes.

Happy Mother’s Day!

TIA CÉLIA

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