‘More Peas, Please’

The two-year-old who proudly deposited her gift of canned peas demonstrates the joy of giving. The world needs “More peas, please,” notes Boomer reader (and proud grandmother) Darlene Edwards.

Our two-year-old granddaughter has recently started returning to church, with a socially distant congregation and her mask. She sits at the kids table with her parents, keeping space, but experiencing the service.

Recently, her mom and dad encouraged her to bring a canned good to the food basket in the service. When she arrived, she took her seat with her parents. My husband and I looked over at her, and our toddler granddaughter raised the canned peas over her head and seemed to be quite pleased to have it in her hands.

Her mom and dad had talked to her about the importance of giving to others and that many do not have the abundance of food we have in our family, so she was excited to share her can.

When the time in the service arrived, adults walked forward to the offering basket providing their monetary donations. A small grocery cart was rolled forward and adults placed brown bags with some canned goods into the basket.

Our granddaughter came bounding forward to the small grocery basket, which was a bit tall for her, but she stretched up on her tiptoes and placed her canned peas in the basket and ran back to her seat. Needless to say, she brought a huge smile to the faces of adults present, her parents, and certainly her grandparents.

At the end of the service, I remarked to our granddaughter how nice it was to donate the green beans and she reminded me the canned good was peas.

When I thought about the can of peas, I realized that the joy of donating for others was taught to me by my mother. My husband and I conveyed that message to our daughter and now she and her husband are carrying that message forward for our granddaughter.

Bottling that vision of unabated joy in the canned peas donation that day was something to experience for the congregation and her family. I thought about how this simple act created so much joy for all around her, and she didn’t even know the impact. Many people after the service commented on her kind gesture and probably talked about it to family when they went home.

An example from a small toddler can set the tone for joy, caring, and tender compassion. What if we took each moment with joy and looked for ways to help our community? The look on our granddaughter’s face was beautiful, and the reaction of those around her was too. If we only could embody that in our everyday experiences and watch and listen to small children, they will provide the guidance we need to hear.

Taking in from my granddaughter, the world needs more peas. My mom would be proud of me saying, “More peas, please,” definitely more peas.

Darlene Edwards and her husband have two adult children, a son-in law, and one beautiful toddler granddaughter. Darlene’s career includes nursing, education, and hospital administration in a large teaching hospital in Central Virginia.

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