One night Clare, Zebia, Lynate and I were sitting around the table by candle light, singing along to Justin Bieber songs on the radio and peeling carrots and green peppers when we heard a knock on the back door.
It was very dark outside, way too late for us to be preparing supper for the "men of the house." Thinking maybe it was Allen returning from the village center with a match box, I opened the door to find my girl hugging a sack of beans (as big as her whole body) with the biggest smile on her face.
"To pay for the house," Ariyo said and gestured for me to accept them.
The entire house was speechless. We were so completely blown away that we could not think of a single thing to say. Finally, Clare broke the silence, "We're having beans for dinner!"
I would have paid $1million for that bowl of beans. I would have held on to them forever...but beans are just one of those gifts that you're forced to enjoy right away.
No one in that room would have told Ariyo that a sack of beans cannot pay for house. Because to us, it did pay for that house. That small gesture was MORE than enough to pay for anything. That simple gift from the sweetest girl.
I'd like to first explain why such a small gift was so priceless. To a family of six, who own exactly nothing, a garden is the only thing which keeps you alive. Ariyo's garden was oh so very small. They had just recently planted a handful of sweet potatoes and several strands of beans were popping up around the perimeter of their small house. To say that garden was properly feeding those children is absolutely ludicrous. (Thankfully JAM was providing meals for the kids at school). Imagine----that sack of beans was literally everything that family owned until they planted more food and waited for it to grow. They offered me their last bit of livelihood, a gesture of pure love.
Part of me couldn't imagine accepting a gift so large. It was too valuable, too expensive, way too generous! How could I possibly eat a big bowl of beans tonight that would take away everything Ariyo owned at home?
The other part of me had my sweet girl staring at me, offering me a steaming bowl of warm beans on a cold rainy night....spoon feeding them to me and not once asking for her own bite. It was that exact moment I realized how pure and sweet her heart is.....how much I should strive to see the world the way she does.
I have never missed anyone in my life this much. Most days while I am missing her it physically hurts. She has made my heart grow too large for its chest.
THAT is how a handful of beans pays for a 5 bedroom house.
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