"He will be like a tree
firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its
season" (Psa. 1:3).
Hey Gang, Mega-times I have heard the comment. 'That Person
really has potential' only to see that person totally fail in developing that
potential. In my tenure of working with
young folks that have made bad decisions, I have seen many who do have the potential
to do great things but they do not have a clue that they have that
potential. You see, potential, without
action, is wasted potential!
One of the great stories that has been part of what
motivated me to give my life to helping those young folks who were not doing
well is that of Dr. Theodore F. Stoddard.
He was a lad who began well but, his world took a nose dive the day he
lost his mom. In school he was the
scourge of the classroom and the teacher even enjoyed placing the red
"E" on his papers.
And then one day the teacher, more from curiosity than any
desire to find a solution to this menace, dug out his previous school records
and found that Teddy was a sharp, personable and even loving child in the first
grade. But the next part of the report stuck out like a neon sign in a
dark night, Teddy's mom died!
Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of
herself. On Christmas, when all the
other kids brought beautifully wrapped gifts, Teddy brought a gift roughly
wrapped in brown bag which contained a bracelet with some of the stones missing
and a half bottle of perfume.
On that day, she quit teaching reading, writing and
arithmetic and began to teach children.
She paid attention to Teddy and gave him that special encouragement sometimes
missing in classrooms today. Teddy responded by becoming one of the top
students in the class.
The story is a wonderful story that had a wonderful
ending. Teddy, not only completed that
school year with very good grades, but graduated from high school and college
with highest honors. Throughout his
progress through college and medical school, eventually becoming a medical
doctor, he sent periodic notes to Mrs. Thompson saying, "You are still the best teacher in the world."
One day she received a letter from Teddy announcing he had
found the love of his life and asked if she would be his Mom for his wedding
day. What joy was in her heart to be his
mom and on that special day. She wore
the bracelet and perfume that she cherished all those years. Teddy, as he gave her a warm hug said,
"You smell just like my Mom".
Is that not a neat story? Bruce Barton wrote: “There is no
greater investment than to invest in the life of a child”. There is no greater investment- for you have
no idea how far they will go and what great things they will do.”
God said, Come, and I will make you a fisher of men”. Request?
No! Suggestion? No. It
is by your fruits that He will know you!
Blessings,
Gramps
No comments:
Post a Comment