Kingdom Living Thoughts: Will You Tell The Truth Amidst Opposition?
(originally posted in 2013)
I went back to school today. Elementary school.
My whole family actually made a point to visit an elementary school where Anna and William went.
We went for a dual purpose and came out of the school doors refreshed and encouraged.
You see, Anna and William both had the same teacher in second grade. She was (and is) an awesome woman who is amazing with school children. Her name is Mrs. Teresa Conowal.
The impetus that really made us finally go see her was a devastating incident that happened to my daughter in second grade. Someone had wrote a nasty note and Anna got blamed for it. The lie that she was the culprit spread like wild fire as her friends ganged up on her and gave their tidbit of evidence that Anna wrote the note.
Anna did not write it. And the fact that her favorite teacher thought she did profoundly affected her. She said she almost gave in and said she wrote it because of the pressure from her friends. She wanted to please her friends but resisted the urge to confess to something she did not do, even if it made her friends mad.
That life lesson has stuck to her today as she is just days from turning 16. As she explained to Ms. Conowal, that even though it was painful, she has learned to stand for the truth, even if you get misunderstood by your friends, or they don’t like you for it.
Well, today we got all that behind us and had an amazing time telling Ms. Conowal what an awesome teacher she is. Anytime you mention Kilough Elementary School in Dawsonville, Georgia you will always hear my children rave on how AWESOME Ms. Conowal was as a teacher.
It went deeper than that.
As Teresa wiped tears from the corner of her eyes, she told us how she has been praying, “Lord is this what you want me to do…Am I making a difference…?”
She said our visit confirmed she WAS in the right place teaching and doing what God had called her to do.
One visit that took some time out of a day….. Simple words of gratitude for memories of love to encourage and praise someone who is impacting young lives.
Simple things that can mean so much. Kingdom living thoughts that changes atmospheres.
Maybe God is calling you out with this story to make a past memory right. Or maybe you need to forgive. Or maybe someone you know needs some encouraging words that they are making a difference.
What are you going to do today? One little visit just might make the difference in someone’s life!
