Kindness

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

As I was walking toward the Kroger entrance, I noticed a young man looking my way. He was standing near a table with a variety of T-shirts and bracelets arranged neatly on it. He grinned and I couldn't resist giving him a few minutes of my time.

He was raising money for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. He explained the program to me enthusiastically and efficiently. Then he gave me a slip of paper with more information and a website to visit. I was glad I had some extra cash on hand. His smile and appreciation were worth far more than the small donation I made or the T-shirt I could have taken.

Upon entering the store, I thought again about one of the things he'd said, "Everyone is touched by addiction in some way."

As I looked over my shopping list, I also looked around at the other shoppers. All the people I see appear to be happy and healthy, but I bet more than a few are dealing with difficult situations of one kind or another, I thought to myself.

I saw an old friend in the produce section. We attended Bible Study Fellowship together years ago. She's had some pretty intense health issues, but is doing much better now. We exchanged only a few words, but we both understood that life had become more challenging over the years. Our short conversation ended with an acknowledgement that even though life can be hard, God is still good.

I continued shopping. As I was nearing the end of the baking aisle, a small woman with long, curly gray hair pushed her shopping cart, or buggy, as we say here in the south, around the corner and into the same aisle.

Smiling, she commented about the rain we were getting. I smiled back and said something about how much we need it.

"Your sweater is beautiful and looks so nice on you," she said.

A compliment is always a day brightener. Before I could tell her so, she generously gave me another one.

"Thank you. That makes my day."

"I'm glad," she said, with a sad expression. Before I could ask if anything was wrong, she shared her sadness. "I just found out my brother-in-law died this morning. It's so sad."

I told her how sorry I was, and I thought again about how much suffering is a part of everyday life. I smiled and assured her we would make it through the hard things.

She nodded her head and agreed with me before asking if she could have a hug. So, our short encounter in the baking aisle at Kroger ended in a tight hug between strangers.

She thanked me, and I thanked her. I think a few moments of kindness made a big difference in her day, and I know it did in mine.

I will remember that sweet encounter in the baking aisle for a long time. A few kind words, a listening heart, and genuine interest in another are gifts we all have to offer.

“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

Catnaps are always especially nice on rainy days.

Max does not like rainy days, because he won't get a walk.

We hope the day is interesting and brings a laugh or two your way!

Intelligence

Some years ago, I ran across Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. I don't remember how or why I came across it, but it got my attention. Some found fault with his theory, but I don't have time or inclination to delve into that bucket-of-worms. Gardner identified eight types of intelligence:

Linguistic: sensitivity to spoken and written language.

Logical-Mathematical: ability to analyze problems logically and carry out mathematical operations.

Spatial: capacity to think in three dimensions.

Musical: skill in performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns.

Bodily-Kinesthetic: using one's body to solve problems or create products.

Interpersonal: understanding and interacting effectively with others.

Intrapersonal: capacity to understand oneself and one's thoughts and feelings.

Naturalistic: ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals, and other aspects of the environment

Each of us has different strengths. As a teacher, it was sometimes like a scavenger hunt to find the one thing that would ignite a student's interest and desire to achieve. Not everyone will be wildly successful in school, and although I wanted every student to love reading and writing as much as I do, not all of them did. However, if I worked hard to provide varied opportunities, it was usually possible to find something each enjoyed and could do well enough to achieve success and experience the good feeling that comes with it.

Then along came the SOL's and slowly the air leaked out of the educational experiences I enjoyed sharing with my students, and the multidimensional art of teaching went flat. It didn't take long for me to realize my work in public education was done.

I have gotten into the weeds a bit; better get back on track. Last week's post made me think about Gardner's theory again. Remembering those tadpoles sitting on a table in the classroom led to other memories. Watching the Monarch butterfly emerge from the chrysalis, waiting for the baby chicks to hatch, creating the model of the solar system, and launching the model rockets all made strong impressions on me and nurtured my natural curiosity. I remember making a little garden in a box as a book project after reading The Secret Garden in fifth grade. That little garden may have been one of the impetuses for my love of growing flowers today.

Interestingly, by the time I was completing my degree in education at Virginia Tech, I had completely forgotten how much I loved science, especially natural science, and was strictly a Language Arts person. Maybe chemistry, my freshman year, left a bad taste in my mouth, and I turned my back on all science.

At some point along the pathway to becoming a teacher, we had to choose what subject(s) we wanted as our concentration(s). Mine were Language Arts and Social Studies. However, due to my freshman year of thinking I might be interested in Physical Therapy, I also had a fair number of science credits. My advisor, Dr. Shirley Farrier, pointed out the option of taking one more science class and having an additional concentration in science to make myself more marketable.

I distinctly remember the conversation. "No, I'll never teach science," I assured her with all the puffed-up bravado of a twenty-two-year-old ready to tackle the world and quickly tame it to suit my wishes.

I did get my dream job teaching language arts, but it didn't happen right away. Most school systems had already begun teacher work week, and I had resigned myself to substitute teaching until a teaching position became available to me. Then, as things often do, everything suddenly changed, and I joined the teaching staff at Brownsburg Middle School in Rockbridge County, where I happily became the seventh-grade language arts teacher.

Those four years at Brownsburg remain extremely special and formative. I met some lifelong friends, loved my students, and developed into a decent teacher. Not to mention all the fun we had. The sky seemed to be the limit, and creative activities happened often. I could set my mind to it and come up with a long list of the things we were able to do with and for the students, but I'll jump ahead to the point of this post.

After four years at BMS, everything suddenly changed again, and it was time to leave Rockbridge County and return home to Giles County. As it had happened with the position at Brownsburg, God moved the puzzle pieces into place, and before I knew it, I had an interview with Mr. Matlock, the principal at Eastern Elementary and Middle School.

Just as I distinctly remember the conversation with Dr. Farrier, I remember that interview with Mr. Matlock. He asked me if I could teach sixth and seventh-grade science. Without a moment's hesitation, because I was still only twenty-something and sure I could do anything, I said, "Absolutely, of course I can. I was only one credit away from having a concentration in science."

He smiled, and for the next eight or ten years, I was a science teacher, and folks at Eastern couldn't imagine I'd ever been anything else, just like the folks at Brownsburg couldn't imagine me as anything but a language arts teacher. I enjoyed teaching science, and I wondered why I had been so dead set against getting that additional concentration. I eventually made my way back to language arts, and truly, it was my first love in teaching, but science wasn't very far behind.

When I first came across Gardner's theory, I took an online test to see what my natural proclivities would be. Linguistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal did not surprise me much, and neither did naturalistic, once I thought about it. I had just never thought about it.

This post may be a bit boring to you, but if you've made it this far, let me remind you of a few things. Never say never. Take some time to think about what intelligences best describe you and then take some more time to be sure you are using your God-given talents and interests in productive ways that honor Him and best serve those around you.

The credit for this great photo goes to Bobby.

Back on the chaise.

Helping make up the bed????

Have a great day and enjoy a long Memorial Day weekend!

Pollywogs

Max enjoyed the view of the pond while Pam and I ate donuts and drank coffee.

Last week Max and I joined friends for a walk at Pandapas Pond. It's a nice thing we do from time to time. We'd both like to go for walks around the pond more often. We should probably try to set up a regular schedule. Maybe every second Friday, if the weather cooperates. I know Max would be totally onboard with that.

It was a beautiful spring day with blue skies and sunshine, though a bit chilly at the beginning of our walk. I was glad Pam suggested we each bring our own coffee and she very kindly brought delicious donuts from Carol Lee's. If you've been to Carol Lee Donuts in Blacksburg, you know those donuts are the best. We walked about a third of the way around the pond before stopping at a convenient picnic table to enjoy our coffee and donuts.

Before arriving at the picnic table, we crossed the wooden footbridge at the upper end of the pond. One glance into the pond water near the bridge and, "Wow! Look at all those tadpoles!" or pollywogs as they are sometimes called. I remember my dad would use that word occasionally. Both tadpole and pollywog are funny words, aren't they?

The water was teeming with the little squiggly black blobs. Their thin tails were propelling them in every direction creating what appeared to be a string of black clouds near the edge of the pond. This is, as you probably know, the larvae stage of amphibians.

I'm not sure if we actually talked briefly about how it seemed like every year of elementary school someone would bring in a jar of tadpoles or if I just thought it in my mind. It was fun and exciting to watch the tadpoles grow legs and transform into frogs. As I remembered watching the process, both at school and also along the edges of Grandpa's pond, I wondered if kids today have a similar experience. My guess was, 'no they do not'. There's probably some rule against having tadpoles in the classroom due to a risk of salmonella poisoning. I suppose it could also be a lack of interest on the teacher's part due to hyper-focus on SOLs or simply not wanting to fool with the mess and distraction the tadpoles might be.

I texted a niece and a nephew to see if they'd ever had a big glass jar of tadpoles in a classroom. As I suspected, neither had. It's sort of a shame, isn't it? Or am I being overly sentimental about the hands-on experiences kids used to have in science class?

We followed a couple Canadian Geese back to the parking lot. Max wanted to make friends, but I assured him the geese would not be of the same mind.

We saw some pretty Indian paintbrush along the path.

It was nice being in God's beautiful creation for a couple hours. There were lots of fishermen there enjoying the morning. I hope they caught some beauties. Two ladies were saddling their horses for a trail ride as we were finishing up our visit in the parking lot. Pam offered water to one of the horses and apologized that we'd eaten all the donuts. The owner of the horse said, "That's a shame. We like donuts."

Who doesn't like donuts?

Enjoy your day!

Let's keep looking up. God is not finished with any of us yet. His plans are perfect, His ways are right, and we can trust Him!