I was reading this morning on BBC news about 11 year old Mohammed Zo’rab from Gaza who goes hunting  for food every day ‘to keep his family alive’. His father is trying to earn a small wage and his mother is sick. It got me thinking about how amazing children can be, and how often we overlook them.

It causes me sadness, but my two do more than most to help when I’m not able. Both of them can make me hot drinks, do the washing up if asked (it’s never a given!) and can also cook a meal. They look out for me a lot and slow down to match my pace. They have never once said they are embarrassed by me sometimes being in a wheelchair, and wave away my concerns when I can’t make it to their concerts and events. I am so proud of the people they have become and while I wish every day I was more able, there is a small part of me that sees my hateful disability has worked to make them even better than before.

I wonder is there anyone in your life that you can see helps you more than you realise? I think we can often underestimate what smaller (or not so small- my son is 6,3!), younger people can do. It is shocking that Mohammed has to provide for his family, but he does it anyway. I wonder how many children become the parent when their own is absent or incapable of caring for them. Every child deserves to be a child, but when circumstances demand it, they often turn into the little heroes you wish they didn’t have to be

I truly hope and pray that a grown-up comes alongside Mohammed and takes that burden off his little shoulders. For any child who needs grown-up help, I hope they get it. I wrote Unmatched Brooches several years ago about two girls who find themselves having to grow up before they should. So all I can say is do your best to find your own little heroes and let them be little as long as they deserve. But also thank them for helping you as you struggle in your own grown-up world. I thank God for my own Mohammeds every day, do you?