Nancy, my older sister, had bright red hair. She taught second grade for several years and loved being in the classroom. One October day her principal brought a red headed boy to her class and handed Nancy his folder. He had been transferred from another class in the same school. In fact, he had been transferred twice based on “personality conflict” with the teacher. Nancy had to accept him, and placed his desk adjacent to her own.

By November it was time for parent/teacher conferences, and this boy’s mother arrived for hers. Nancy showed the mother all of her son’s work, and after a moment, the mom looked at Nancy and said, “Yes, but how is he really doing in class?” Nancy said later that she thought she could be “real,” so she said, “How do you think a red-haired boy would do in my class??” There were tears in this mother’s eyes when she left the interview. The boy had a good year that year, and stopped back to see Nancy after he went on to third grade.

Nancy was unapologetic about her preference for this boy. She thought that probably some of the other children believed that he was her son, but no one complained about his being favored. It must have been such a surprise to him, that he just accepted his new status and enjoyed it.

To get real,” is to find Grace.

Conversion:

He was a born loser,

accident prone, too;

never won a lottery,

married a girl who

couldn’t cook, broke

his leg the day before

the wedding

and forgot the ring.

He was the kind

who ended up behind a post

in almost any

auditorium. Planes

he was booked to fly on

were delayed

by engine trouble

with sickening regularity.

His holidays at the beach

were almost always ruined by rain. All

his apples turned out wormy. His letters

came back marked

Moved, left no

address. And it was

his car that was cited

for speeding

from among a flock of others

going 60 in a

55 mile zone.

So it was a real shocker

when he found himself

elected, chosen by Grace

for salvation, felt

the exhilaration of

an undeserved and wholly

unexpected joy

and tasted, for the

first time, the Glory

of being on

the winning side.

By Luci Shaw

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free. . . (Romans 8:1-2)

Love in Him,

Prue