This one touched my heart and I just had to share it. I feel fortunate that our daughter Rae made the decision to be an educator because this profession provides a tremendous opportunity to serve. Those of us that are called "teacher" get the chance to touch lives everyday and in turn we hope that our students go out into the world and do that very same thing, help others. Well, this past week one of her students reinforced a valuable lesson to Rae, and in the mix, gave me a wonderful reminder to share with each of you.
Each year our middle schools plan "day games" which allow the student body a chance to see their team in action. Many students wouldn't get a chance to come back to an after- hours event or travel to an away match at a different field or school. So, this past week offered a day volleyball match at Rae's school. Students pay a nominal $1.00 fee to attend the match and then to make the event a more realistic experience the concession stand opens allowing students to purchase sweet and salty treats for the sporting event. There's nothing like a bag of popcorn and a sugary treat to make the spectator experience complete. That's where this story begins.
From this point, I will be recanting the story as it was shared with me by my lovely daughter and amazing teacher, Mrs. Rachel Newsom. "After the students had filed into the gym and found their seats along the bleachers the game started and the kids were really into it. One particular student, "Jimmy", was sitting beside me on the bleachers. When the game started the window to the concession stand popped open and there on display were all kinds of brightly packaged candies, chocolates, and sweet fizzy sodas. Jimmy was so excited when he saw the brightly packaged candy, he was almost clapping his hands in excitement over the candy store that was on display. Students that brought money from home were dismissed by row to visit the concession stand and when it got to our class, who do you think was the only kid to not get up to visit the concession stand? Jimmy. Well I don't carry cash around hardly at all, but I had stuck a dollar in my back pocket just in case I decided to get a drink or something. So, I pulled the dollar out and told Jimmy to come over to me. I handed him the dollar and told him to go get him something. You would have thought I had given him a hundred-dollar bill! He said thank you and hurried over to the concession stand to take his place in line." Being Mrs. Newsom's father, that alone made me proud, but honestly, she was just doing what she was supposed to do. This story isn't about my daughter doing the right thing, but as the legendary radio announcer Paul Harvey always said, "Now, here's the rest of the story".
Mrs. Newsom continued. "When Jimmy reached the front of the line, he asked the staff members working in the concession stand what was the item he could get the most of with his dollar. He was informed that there was one particular candy that cost .25 cents each and he could get four of those. Decidedly, that was the item that Jimmy chose. I was thinking well that was getting the most out of the dollar I had given him, but then what happened next blew me away. As Jimmy made his way back up the bleachers, Jimmy stopped and gave a piece of candy to three other classmates from other classes that had not gone to the concession stand either! He came back to his seat and opened the last treat he had purchased and began watching the volleyball match, just like nothing had happened out of the ordinary."
Wow, I was blown away with the story Rachel had just shared with me and I really didn't know what to say or what to do at this point, but I did know that "Jimmy" is one special young man! I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but what I do know is that this 11year old boy had inadvertently given me a gift through the story Rachel shared about his compassionate, giving heart. You see the seed I planted in Rachel's heart to always look out for others, led to the gift of $1.00 to an economically disadvantaged student to buy a piece of candy, which ultimately resulted in not one student receiving a gift, but instead four students benefited from "Jimmy's" giving heart. From there I received the gift that Jimmy gave me through Rae's story. His gift to me, unbeknownst to him, is one of the compassionate, giving spirit that we pray exists in each of our hearts. His gift of a twenty-five cent piece of candy, makes me want to do something for "Jimmy". Obviously, we all know "Jimmy" isn't this young man's name and obviously it doesn't really matter what his or her name really is. What matters is that we identify that this simple act of giving is relevant and important in developing society. This simple act of selflessness should be recognized, it should be respected, and it should be multiplied. I plan on doing something for this young man. I haven't decided exactly what, but I'm thinking that I want this year to include a special visit from Saint Nick??
In closing today, I don't want to fail to give credit to the ultimate gift that was given to each of us some time ago, a gift that is still giving, and is readily available to each of us. John 3:16 tells me that God gave His Son to us, to live among us, and teach us how to treat our fellow man, and then being the example He is, Jesus gave us the gift of eternal life by dying on the cross as payment for our sins. That gift is yours today, take it just like you would a piece of candy from a sixth-grade student, and then give it to as many people as you have a chance to give. That is truly the gift that will keep on giving.
Coach Carter
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