Don't be handicapped in telling others about Jesus.
Now that the school year is over, I can talk about his (I think). This story goes perfectly with the scripture reading from this morning.
This year there was a boy named Jake. Jake is a small Hispanic boy with a BIG attitude. Some may say that he has the right to have an attitude. He is in a wheelchair. Jake hasn’t always been in one.
Well, when I first met Jake he was causing a disruption in his classroom and was sent down to my room to for a “time-out”. (It was probably a time-out for the teacher.) He wasn’t in my classroom for five minutes when I had to ask him to either pay attention and participate in our lesson or sit quietly. He came back with a smartelic comment that a young kid shouldn’t be making to a teacher or any adult for that matter. I gave grace once, then on his next comment called for the assistant principal to come and get this kid who I don’t even know out of my room. (I guess I was a bit impatient that day.)
I would see Jake over the next few weeks in the halls and just didn’t have a kind feeling about him. It bothered me that I let this kid who I didn’t know get to me. So what did I do? I started praying for him and for my attitude towards him. I had found out a little bit about his situation and God started working on me even more. The verse from today’s reading kept coming to my mind: “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” John 13:34-35
About two months had passed since that day Jake was sent to my room. I saw him in the hallway again playing around with another kid when he should have been in class. I thought about the verse again. “You must love each other just as I loved you.” Really, God? Just as you loved me?
Okay. I took a deep breath and followed Jake into the clinic where he needed to go for his medication. I knelt down beside him, with the nurse as my witness, and just started telling him how I felt from the heart. It went something like this:
“Listen. I want you to know that I have been praying for you and for my attitude towards you. I didn’t like you too much, but God has been working on me. It wasn’t you that I didn’t like. It was really your attitude and actions I saw. (Jake had a tendency to be mouthy and rude to others.) I understand that you have been dealt a bad hand in life.” He shook his head yes. “You have witnessed stuff in your life that I never have and I wish you never had to experience it.” We chatted about how he was put in the wheelchair, which was a gang related incident. He was shot and has lost loved ones because of that lifestyle too. “But since you have experienced it…” I asked Jake, “Have you ever heard of the saying ‘Make lemonade out of lemons”? He looked at me and said “No”. “Well, have you ever tasted lemonade?” “Yes.” “How did it taste?” “Sweet.” “How about a lemon? Have you ever tasted one of those?” “Yes. It was sour.” We talked again about how he was given a “lemon-situation” and how I believe that God has given him the opportunity to make it a “lemonade situation”. Our conversation continued, with a little positive “Jesus talk” (not too much, I am in a public school. Shhh).
As our talk continued, I could see Jake’s countenance soften. He would make eye contact and even smile at me. I thought to myself, “A break through!”
I kept glancing at the nurse to make sure I wasn’t over stepping my boundaries. She seemed to be in complete agreement with what I was saying, as she sat there and smiled.
That conversation between Jake and I took place about a month and a half before school got out. What happened over the next few weeks between the two of us was so refreshing. He would open the door for me when my hands were full. We would pass each other in the hall and smile at each other or say “Hi” to one another. I loved it and could imagine Jesus smiling down on us too.
I so wanted to make sure I spoke to Jake again before school let out because I understand that he will not be at my school next year. On the last day, I saw him during lunch and went over to him. I knelt down again and asked him how he was doing and about his school for next year. I told him that I am praying for him and expect big things from him. He shrugged, as if he was going to have a hard time making it on his own.
Jake taught me a lesson. He made me remember God’s word and how Jesus wants us to treat others. He made me realize that just a simple “get real” moment on someone’s level could make a world of difference. When I would see through Jake’s hard facade and look into his heart, it humbled me and broke me too. This kid has feelings. He masked it with a bad attitude larger than his little life. When we understand, or attempt to, someone’s situation, we peel away some of the mask to reveal a kinder and more gentle person.
I pray that others who come across Jake’s path with see the good in him. He has the opportunity to have such an awesome testimony for God. Every time I think of Jake I will pray for him. Oh how I pray that he will see the how God can use him for the good.
Remember, “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” John 13:34-35
Love. See the good in others. Turn a bad situation into a positive thing. Be a witness for God. Please pray for Jake with me.
| June 10 |