Mark Eklund was a student in Sister Helen’s nineth grade math class at St. Mary’s School in Morris, Minnesota. He was much less talkative than he had been years earlier in her third-grade class. One Friday Sister Helen sensed the class’s frustration with trying to learn “ne math.” So, she asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. As the class ended, the students handed in their papers.
That weekend, Sister Helen wrote down the name of each student on a separate paper and listed what everyone else said about that person. On Monday, she gave each student his or her list.
Several years later, Sister Helen was told by her parents that Mark Eklund was killed in Vietnam. His funeral was held a few days later. It was a rainy day, but the church was packed. Mark’s sister sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” At the graveside everyone walked by the coffin. As Sister Helen stood near the coffin, one of the soldiers who served as pallbearer came up to her. “Were you Mark’s math teacher? he asked. Sister Helen nodded, “yes.” “Mark talked about you a lot,” he said.
After the funeral, Sister Helen joined family and friends for lunch. Mark’s mother and father began talking with her. “We want to show you something,” his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.” Opening his billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. It was the papers that listed all the good things Mark’s classmates had said about him.
Illustration is from sermon by Richard Tow entitled "The Merciful." Story is for the Heart compiled by Alice Gray.