Can you help solve it?

As a way of keeping in touch, some of my former students email me. I always love hearing from them, especially since I don't get to see them in the halls or lunchroom this year like I have been able to in the past. Recently, I received an email from one of my old fourth graders. In the email, he told me about a situation with another (older) student whose mom and dad had both abandoned him. It was obvious that he was really concerned and worried about this situation. The part that gripped me was this though: He wrote, "Could you help him solve that problem?" Never mind that I live in Mexico right now or that the other student's parents had moved very far away, just a simple "Can you fix it, Miss Sloderbeck?" It made me feel both good and bittersweet that he thought I could and reminded me of what a privilege (and also heavy responsibility) it is to be a teacher. I also thought about how we are to have faith like a child. I can see why...