Johnny raised his hand and jumped up and down in his chair. His teacher visibly, annoyed, told him to put it down and be quiet. Johnny persists, and eventually, the teacher erupts in a combination of frustration and anger. “To the office!” she yells. Johnny starts to protest but is quickly interrupted with another emphatic command to head to the office.
As he hangs his head and proceeds to the door unable to get a word in edgewise Sally slumps over at her desk, then rolls on to the floor. As she hits the floor, she begins to fall victim to a seizure. As Johnny sits in tears in the office chair, he keeps muttering to himself, “I tried to tell her, I tried.”
Johnny sits in that chair for what seems an eternity as everyone is busy and hectic with the emergency that is taking place, and the various rescue personnel and police officers coming in and out of the office. The phone rings unanswered, and there are several students in the office as well, with red eyes showing apparent signs of tears.
As the dust settles, Johnny is brought into the principal’s office to discuss his punishment. As the principal sits down and exhales with force to relieve the stress that is with Johnny seizes the moment to finally say: “I tried to tell her, my sister is diabetic! She looks just like that when her sugar drops too low!”
As it turns out, Johnny was right. Sally had been overcome by a deadly drop if her blood sugar. Johnny, who was at times an unruly child was attempting to summon help for her. He noticed the signs that were taking place, and perhaps had he been able to share this information, her life could have been saved.
Thankfully this story is fictional. What is not fictional, however, is the multitude of times in which we underestimate the ability of our young people. What is not fictional is that all too often those who have made a mistake or transgression are ignored for their meritorious abilities.
Albert Einstein once said: “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
This last week I spent the week in the company of some very unexpected teachers. Teacher’s whom I was guilty of underestimating. I spent a week where I was ministering to them; however, at the same time, they taught me more than I could imagine.
-It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice.
Ecclesiastes 4:13 NLT
-Children are a gift from the Lord ; they are a reward from him.
Psalms 127:3 NLT
Devotional time with Pastor Joel 