Sending A Teacher To A Dying Boy

SENDING A TEACHER TO A DYING BOY

There was a school system in a large city that had a program that helped children in the hospital keep up with their homework. One day a teacher who was assigned to that program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular. She took the child’s name and room number and talked briefly with the child’s regular class teacher. "We’re studying nouns and adverbs in class right now," the regular teacher said, "and I’d be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn’t fall behind."

The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt as if she didn’t accomplish much.

But the next day a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt like she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no" said the nurse. "You don’t know what I mean. We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to live." Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"

We are sometimes like that child, emotionally burned and suffering, giving up because we think no one cares. But God does care for us. He knows that we are in pain, longing to go home, to be free from the pain of our lives and world. God hasn’t left us high and dry though, He has left us the Comforter until that time.

(SOURCE: From a sermon by Aaron Kilbourn, "We’re Expecting" 7/1/08, SermonCentral.com)