Whispers of Truth

          Since I earned my teaching degree twenty years ago, many students have crossed my path, and many have left deep impressions on my soul. Recently, one seared a lesson into my soul that I hope I won’t forget any time soon.           This particular student, who I will call Cynthia, had struggles that were foreign to me, not only as a student, but also as a child. A severe lack of self-confidence and a struggle to connect in any appropriate way to anyone impeded her learning and growth to the degree that the child was removed for a time from the normal school setting for one that was pronounced more appropriate for everyone involved.           After a time, when the trial period was over and progress was deemed suitable by the powers that be, she returned to school, facing the same gigantic obstacles as before, only this time she did so with a new connection—the guidance and love of a Christian teacher who had instructed and spent time with this difficult child daily during th

          As I write this, I hope you understand that there I mean no disrespect, but I’ve been pondering the notion that living the Christian life is somewhat like playing a Scrabble game. In this kind of word game, the players are dealt seven random letters to be used in forming words to play on the game board. Of course, there are restrictions and rules that make it impossible to play certain words, which is terribly frustrating. Another complication is that sometimes forming a word to connect to the board is extremely difficult because of the limitations of the letters you are dealt--the letters seem to be everything but what you need. For example, if you have vowels, but need consonants, it seems that all you are dealt is more vowels, and vice versa, while the one who has the Qs and Xs and Js (all high value letters) seem to have no trouble making more. Frustration also occurs if you have the perfect word and no place to play that word. Even worse, sometimes you can’t see the poss