Article: Words of Kindness
A page in the diary "Accept, Adapt and Appreciate: How?"
Written by nw4m Apr 30 2008 12:31 PM
This is from TODAY, 29 April 2008 - Focus on the Family column by Dr James Dobson.
Words of Kindness
I remember sitting in my car at a fastfood restaurant eating a hamburger and french fries. When I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw the most pitiful, scrawny little kitten on a ledge behind my car. I was so touched by how hungry it looked that I got out, tore off a piece of my hamburger and tossed it to him.
But before the kitten could reach it, a huge tomcat sprang out of the bushes, grabbed the morsel and gobbled it down. I felt even more sorry for the kitten who turned back and ran into the shadows, still hungry and frightened.
I was immediately reminded of my years as a secondary school teacher. I saw teenagers every day who were just as needy, deprived and lost as that little kitten.
It wasn't food that they required, it was love, attention and respect - and they were desperate for it.
And just when they opened up and revealed the pain inside, one of the more popular kids would abuse and ridicule them, and send them scurrying back into the shadows, frightened and alone.
As adults, we must never forget the pain of trying to grow up, and of the competitive world in which many adolescents live today.
To take a moment to listen to, to care for, and to direct such a youngster may be the best investment of a lifetime.