Let me start this post with a short story from yesterday. As some of you may, or may not, know I work in a high school as an educational assistant tutoring juniors and seniors who need the extra help. One of the students I'm working with is in grave danger of not passing this year and yesterday we had to tell this student that she may not make it to graduation. As expected she didn't take the news well and it really broke my heart as I watched her eyes tear in the realization that she may have to take another year of school.
After she calmed down a little we let her know there is still hope and what happens in the end depends fully on how she reacts to the news and acts in the next 2 weeks. We sat down, made a plan, met with all her teachers, and marked a path that will lead her to success. After that meeting she felt much better and understood that it was all up to her now. After everyone had left I talked to her a little more and let her know she wasn't alone and that all of us are there to pull her through, even though we could no longer do more than cheer her on.
Just as we were about to leave the room I felt the need to ask her something. "Can you feel what everyone has for you and how much we want for you to do this?" She looked at me, eyes tearing again, and nodded as she began to cry. She looked me in the eye and said, "I know you all care about me and I know you'll never leave my side."
Today's passage comes from 1 John 4:7-21. Today's focus is 7 simple words from verse 19, "We love because he first loved us."
If a true sign of love is to never leave one's side, whether it's in times of joy or sorrow, happiness or pain, good or bad then yesterday I witnessed what love can do. If this is the kind of love God has for me, and if my calling as a Christian is to share this love with others then by all means let it begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment