Too Busy for a Friend?
*One day a teacher asked her students to list the names*
*of the other students in the room on two sheets*
*of paper, leaving a space between each name.*
*Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say *
*about each of their classmates and write it down.*
*It took the remainder of the class period to finish their *
*assignment, and as the students left the room, each*
*one handed in the papers.*
*Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.*
*On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.*
* No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with *
*their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise *
*had accomplished its purpose. The students *
*were happy with themselves and one *
*another. That group of *
*students moved on.*
* Several years later, one of the students was killed in *
*Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral *
*of that special student. She had never seen*
*a serviceman in a military coffin before.*
*He looked so handsome, so mature.*
*The church was packed with his friends. One by *
*one those who loved him took a last walk *
*by the coffin. The teacher was the*
*last one to bless the coffin.*
*As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer *
*came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he *
*asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: *
*'Mark talked about you a lot.'*
*After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went *
*together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father *
*were there, obviously waiting to *
*speak with his teacher.*
*'We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a *
*wallet out of his pocket 'They found this on Mark *
*when he was killed. We thought you *
*might recognize it.'*
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces *
*of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, *
*folded and refolded many times. The teacher*
*knew without looking that the papers *
*were the ones on which she had *
*listed all the good things each*
*of Mark's classmates*
*had said about him.*
*'Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. *
*'As you can see, Mark treasured it.'*
*All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. *
*Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still*
*have my list. It's in the top drawer of *
*my desk at home.'*
*Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to *
*put his in our wedding album.'*
* 'I have mine too,' Marilyn said. *
*'It's in my diary'*
*Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took*
*out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to*
*the group. 'I carry this with me at all times,' Vicki *
*said and without batting an eyelash,*
*she continued: 'I think we all*
*saved our lists'*
*That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried.*
*She cried for Mark and for all his friends who*
*would never see him again.*
*The density of people in society is so thick *
*that we forget that life will end one *
*day. And we don't know when*
*that one day will be.*
*So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are*
*special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.*
*And One Way* *To Accomplish This Is: Forward this message on. *
*If you do not send it, you will have, once again passed up the *
*wonderful opportunity to do something *
*nice and beautiful.*
*Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into*
*the lives of others comes back into your own.*
*May Your Day Be Blessed As Special As You Are*
