Mrs. Thalia Ludlow knew something about her quieter grandchildren: they needed watching as much as the rest, because even though they generally did not attract attention, they had worlds of stuff going on inside of them.
And so, Mrs. Ludlow saw seven-year-old Amanda's lip start quivering for what appeared to be no good reason while she was sitting in the living room looking out the window, and scooped her up before she started bawling …
“Grandma, I'm scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaared! I don't feel safe now!”
“What's the matter, Mandie?”
“Does money have to change us? Can't we be rich and stay nice?”
“Oh, you're worried about the possibilities of the sale of the Ludlow Bubbly.”
“Yeah – because I'm not going to volunteer to be rich if money is going to change us! Give all of it to someone else and stay good people!”
So, she cried, and cried, and cried – Amanda was really, really scared. Mrs. Ludlow knew her foster care story before Capt. and Mrs. Ludlow had come and gotten her, and so understood why.
But, after Amanda had cried out into a good nap and woke up calm, Mrs. Ludlow handed her a penny.
“So, that's your penny now, Amanda,” she said. “Who gets to choose what you do with it?”
“Uh … I do.”
Mrs. Ludlow handed her a dime.
“That's your dime now, Amanda. Who gets to choose what you do with it?”
“I do.”
“So, does it make a difference how much it is, if it is yours?”
“No … I'm going to keep people safe with it.”
“So, if I handed you a million dollars, would it make any difference?”
Amanda thought about this.
“No … oh, I get it.”
“Money just gives people the opportunity to do what they really wanted to do anyway,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “There are a lot of people who are poor who will do good with more money, because that's what they want to do and are doing with the money they have. There are a lot of people who are poor who will do evil with more money, because that's what they want to do, and would be doing more evil now if they could afford it.”
“Oh, that makes so much sense because I already knew my foster family didn't love any of us, but when they got that lottery money, they really thought they could show us,” Amanda said.
“And, in the meantime, your grandfather and I were pooling the money we had then to come get you and all the rest, because the amount didn't matter,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “It's what you choose to do with it.”
Amanda considered this and sighed.
“I know you, and I know Papa,” she said. “I know Eleanor, Andrew, and now Glendella, and George is interesting sometimes but he has a good heart, and Edwina is loud but she wants to keep people safe too, and Grayson is going to build good things and Rob is the best of all, so, I feel safe now. We're just gonna do more of what we are already doing.”
“Yep,” Mrs. Ludlow said. “We are choosing to do what Christ says we are to do with whatever He gives us, so, the amount means we can just do more.”
“OK, we can go on and sell the company now, Grandma,” Amanda said. “I'm good!”
“Well, we had to make sure that happened first,” Mrs. Ludlow said, with a smile and kiss on her granddaughter's forehead.