A little dose of Sunshine

Everyone needs a little bit of sunshine in their life. While I was home this summer, I purchased a solar flower to put in my window at work. It’s very simple – when it is sunny, the leaves and flower move back and forth. When you see this flower moving you can’t help but smile and wonder about the little thing dancing in the sun.

On numerous occasions, people who walk in my office notice the dancing flower and ask where I got it from. As they stare at it, they can’t help but smile and it brings a little bit of joy to everyone who sees it.

The other day, a man was hanging outside my window painting the ship. He is a day worker who lives here in Guinea and comes to the ship to help us maintain the ship. As I looked at him sitting on a plank of wood outside my window, I noticed he was smiling. I followed his gaze and he was staring at the little moving flower. I waved at him, but he was so focused on this little flower he didn’t notice me waving at him.

It was such a bright moment of my day realizing that this flower was spreading joy even off the ship.

Precious Purple Balloon

Yesterday I was privileged to witness one of the most joyful things I have seen in a long time. I was walking down the gangway. A four year old boy, dressed in a hospital gown and underoos, waddles down in front of me.

He refused to grab the railing because the most important thing to him is the balloon he is carrying. It took him a while, but he finally made it to the dock. He lifted his balloon up triumphantly, his face showing only victory and joy. It was in that moment, the wind blew and he lost his grip on the precious gift. It took him a second to realize the tragedy of the situation but he soon when running after his prized possession: the purple balloon.

While all of this was going on – one of our local Guinean guards was watching this boy very carefully. He was enjoying seeing the boy so happy with his balloon. The guard saw the balloon take flight and immediately ran to catch the balloon for the boy. He quickly passed the 4 year old and charged after this boy’s happiness as it floated away. The boy just stopped and stared at this man sprinting after the balloon.

By the time the guard reached the balloon it was at the fence and blowing towards the barbed wire. As the purple balloon intertwined with the barbed wire the guard plunged both hands into the wire trying to protect the balloon from popping.

It was a success! He freed the balloon and ran back and gave it to the boy who was now cheering on his champion for saving his precious purple balloon.

It was something so simple. It was something so precious. It was definitely something that has made me smile for days and that makes me appreciate our guards even more.