One Sunday I was having lunch with my daughter and her two boys. While my daughter was getting the boys their lunch my youngest grandson reported that he was sad. He was sad because a little girl in his class was sad. A group of boys were teasing her at lunch, saying that she had a crush on one of the cadet teachers. Sometimes they made her cry.
It got quiet. We were eating out and those seated around us were drawn the dilemma, my grandson is quite dramatic.
The young boy's temper flashed at the possibility that this whole matter was not taken seriously. His face tightened, his voice trembled and his eyes became teary.
He continued his story.
He asked the boys to be nice, but they refused. Then they switched their displeasure towards him. They told him that if he wanted to be friends, he would have to tease the little girl. He bucked up and said if they could not be nice. He was not their friend.
To those seated around us, he was a hero. There was no applause, but some sighs of relief and some approving looks.
As a teacher who deals with hurtful words on a daily basis, I was extremely proud of his stand; to have such convictions at such an early age. I was also very proud of my daughter and my son-in-law for modeling an appropriate life style and for teaching both of the boys compassion and caring for others.
When my daughter returned to the dinner table my grandson repeated the story for her. She and I both indicated our pride in his decisions and told him that it was always proper to be firm when it comes to bullying. We also explained that the best course of action was to tell an adult.
My daughter reported the action to his teacher and the issue was quickly and firmly resolved.
Maybe the lesson here is bullying actions need to be slowed down when youngster are in preschool through second grade, by teachers who students not only respect, but love. Maybe kindness, compassing and caring can be taught at home and reinforced by these early year teachers. Maybe the foundation to repel such situations will develop into a firm foundation and these youngsters will grow up respecting the rights of others and will be able to defend their convictions.
This is only one instance, and a youngster's belief system will be challenged many times in the course of a day, a week, and through the years, but at least in this instance there is evidence of a positive character under construction
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Welcome to Awakening Moments
Welcome to Awakening Moments, a blog designed to chronicle the awakewning moments in my life including a couple of miracles, and things as natural as sunsets or a walk in the rain. I am a retired middle school teacher from southwest Missouri. After five years of retirement I took a part time position at a Regional Catholic High School. I am a member of the local Episcopal church, so I fit right in with the Catholic ways. The motivation for the blog developed from a sermon at my church and a speech delivered by the Catholic Bishop, at our school. Both had the central theme of "God's Grace" in our lives and in using our "gifts" to share those experiences It has been a week since I set up the blog and not a day has gone by since that I haven't experienced moments revealing God's presence in my life and in the world.
I hope you will enjoy these moments and will read on to discover the many moments in my life that have strengthed and defined my faith. I hope you will be so moved as to share those moments in your life and we can comment and support each other on our spiritual journeys.
I hope you will enjoy these moments and will read on to discover the many moments in my life that have strengthed and defined my faith. I hope you will be so moved as to share those moments in your life and we can comment and support each other on our spiritual journeys.
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Day I Met God
The day was bright and sunny. It was a beautiful spring day in late May. I was in my junior year of college, 19 years old, and on an outing with my two best friends. This event was to be the finale of a semester that resulted in total burnout. I had stopped going to class, failed to turn in assignments and was banking on good finals' scores to squeak out a passing grade. The day was a free day, ironically referred to as "dead day," designed as a study time in preparation for finals which would begin the following Monday. The combination of the reckless attitudes and judgments of youth, and the speed of a brand new Ford Mustang yielded the formula for an activity gone bad, and turned deadly.
We were on a day outing to a Southwest Missouri theme park. We were traveling on curvy, hilly roads, challenging the terrain that was characteristic of the Missouri Ozarks. It was almost noon. The accident occurred when the driver lost control of the car, the car crossed the center line, left the roadway, hit a concrete culvert, and slammed head-on into a tree. The tree kept the car from plummeting over a cliff and spiraling out of control to the bottom of a deep ravine. The bounce from hitting the culvert caused a gas leak resulting in an explosion and fire. The car burned in a matter of minutes.
I guess the first miracle was how we got out of the car. The two front seat passengers, who were wearing seatbelt, had serious injuries, the driver, a severely broken arm, and the front seat passenger, a broken back. I was riding in the back, between the seats and not wearing a seatbelt. When the car hit the culvert and bounced, my head tore through the fabric ceiling liner and the inertia from the impact with the tree, slammed it forward into the metal ribbing supporting the roof of the car resulting in serious and extensive head lacerations. The crash impact also forced my whole body forward. My left leg was caught behind the drivers seat, slammed forward, and was twisted, resulting in six inched of ground bone just above my right knee.
My first after crash memory was sitting on something near the roadway. My head was wrapped with a tee shirt. I felt the heat from the flames and remember the crackling sound of the car as it was consumed by the fire. I remember it being dark, the tee shirt was covering my eyes. I remember the shirt was heavy, and wet from the gushing blood. I remember being lifted into an ambulance at the crash scene and being unloaded at a local hospital near the crash site. The local ER doctor sent me on with the ambulance driver to a large city hospital 40 miles away. The doctor told me later that he sent me on because there was nothing he could do and death was only a matter of time. My traveling companions were admitted to the local hospital and were told that I didn't make it. Leaving the hospital was the last thing I remember before awakening in the operating room at St. John's hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Truthfully, I did die in the ambulance on route to the hospital. My blood level plunged below the lethal level resulting in clinical death. This also resulted in a diving blood pressure and cardiac arrest. The ambulance attendant reported to the ER doctors that I had died and had to be revived.
Thus, the beginning of the second miracle, the main miracle. While in the hospital I was in awe over the whole experience and it took time for me to understand. I soon realized that I had experienced that walk through the valley of the shadow of death and had emerged on the threshold of eternity. My life on earth would never be the same.
That was almost forty years ago but I remember it as only yesterday. That experience was my true "Awakening Moment," and the event responsible for the creation of the blog. Much more will follow in future posts.
Keep your eyes, ears, mind, and heart open and you to will experience "Awakening Moments."
We were on a day outing to a Southwest Missouri theme park. We were traveling on curvy, hilly roads, challenging the terrain that was characteristic of the Missouri Ozarks. It was almost noon. The accident occurred when the driver lost control of the car, the car crossed the center line, left the roadway, hit a concrete culvert, and slammed head-on into a tree. The tree kept the car from plummeting over a cliff and spiraling out of control to the bottom of a deep ravine. The bounce from hitting the culvert caused a gas leak resulting in an explosion and fire. The car burned in a matter of minutes.
I guess the first miracle was how we got out of the car. The two front seat passengers, who were wearing seatbelt, had serious injuries, the driver, a severely broken arm, and the front seat passenger, a broken back. I was riding in the back, between the seats and not wearing a seatbelt. When the car hit the culvert and bounced, my head tore through the fabric ceiling liner and the inertia from the impact with the tree, slammed it forward into the metal ribbing supporting the roof of the car resulting in serious and extensive head lacerations. The crash impact also forced my whole body forward. My left leg was caught behind the drivers seat, slammed forward, and was twisted, resulting in six inched of ground bone just above my right knee.
My first after crash memory was sitting on something near the roadway. My head was wrapped with a tee shirt. I felt the heat from the flames and remember the crackling sound of the car as it was consumed by the fire. I remember it being dark, the tee shirt was covering my eyes. I remember the shirt was heavy, and wet from the gushing blood. I remember being lifted into an ambulance at the crash scene and being unloaded at a local hospital near the crash site. The local ER doctor sent me on with the ambulance driver to a large city hospital 40 miles away. The doctor told me later that he sent me on because there was nothing he could do and death was only a matter of time. My traveling companions were admitted to the local hospital and were told that I didn't make it. Leaving the hospital was the last thing I remember before awakening in the operating room at St. John's hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Truthfully, I did die in the ambulance on route to the hospital. My blood level plunged below the lethal level resulting in clinical death. This also resulted in a diving blood pressure and cardiac arrest. The ambulance attendant reported to the ER doctors that I had died and had to be revived.
Thus, the beginning of the second miracle, the main miracle. While in the hospital I was in awe over the whole experience and it took time for me to understand. I soon realized that I had experienced that walk through the valley of the shadow of death and had emerged on the threshold of eternity. My life on earth would never be the same.
That was almost forty years ago but I remember it as only yesterday. That experience was my true "Awakening Moment," and the event responsible for the creation of the blog. Much more will follow in future posts.
Keep your eyes, ears, mind, and heart open and you to will experience "Awakening Moments."
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