tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36914026.post4762680229179394533..comments2023-10-10T11:18:58.072-05:00Comments on The Krum Church: Christy Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16264749319255974812noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36914026.post-76024186751580486282007-09-22T23:35:00.000-05:002007-09-22T23:35:00.000-05:00I too hurt for the Christopher Hitchens of the wor...I too hurt for the Christopher Hitchens of the world, but for a different reason. It is not for the type of exposure they have had to religion, instead I ache because they are living in darkness and have not experienced love. God's love or anyone else's for that matter. Perhaps that is why they strike out at others that have experienced it. They are like children who have been abused and hurt deep down inside. They want the love and attention but the only way they know how to get it is to lash out at those around them. It's a self fullfilling type of behavior which in the end gets them right back to being abused or unloved.<BR/><BR/>I teach in a school with children that have all kinds of issues and they lash out at the very people who offer love and hope to them. They do this because that is all they know how to do. They are still children, but will one day be adults who will do the same kind of things if they don't change. However, if they grow up having been shown the love of Christ instead of the world of hate, then perhaps they will not grow up to be like those who claim that religion is a fraud. <BR/><BR/>Because I teach in a school that is not considered private, I have to follow the rules about separation of church and state. This means no religion, but that does not mean that I can't practice the teachings of Jesus. I can offer love and hope to those I teach even on the days when it is hard to love them. And believe me I have those days. In fact I told a difficult student one day last wwek that he was making it hard for me to love him. To which he replied: "I didn't know that you did." I then told him that I did indeed love him. No, it didn't make it any easier to love him, but it did make a difference to him. I offered him my love and forgiveness and didn't require anything in return from him. No, it didn't make him into a perfect young man instantly, but I'm sure that it gave him something he didn't think he had before. Someone loved him and he knew it, and that gives hope for the future. Which by the way is what my school is all about. You see, I am a teacher for the University of Texas Charter School, Methodist Children's Home campus in Waco,TX. Where our school's mission statement is: The Methodist Children's Home School provides a hope filled learning community equipping students with relevant knowledge to pursue a productive future.<BR/><BR/>The key here is hope filled because our students come to us many times without hope and with many failures in their young lives. It is up to the teachers and staff of the school to show our students that they have a future filled with hope.<BR/>We do this by accepting them with love and forgiveness, while teaching them how to believe in themselves. We do this one child at a time, but all are equally important. <BR/><BR/>So, yes I agree with you Christy. The future is now and we can change it one person at a time if we offer life to those we find hardest to love. It's not easy, but I can say from personal experience that it will change not only those you offer life to, but it will change you as well.<BR/><BR/>Will I have that same student give me problems again? Yes I'm sure that I will, but I'll continue to love him just the same. And he will know it by my actions as well as my words and we will both be transformed by God's love.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com