My Third Grade Teacher

When I was in third grade, my teacher was Mrs. Viola Gall.  That year the P.T.A. decided to have a mother-daughter banquet.  There were only two girls who could not attend, and I was one of them.  My mother had six other children, including a one year old, and she worked a full-time job.  There was no way she would be able to attend the banquet with me, even if she could afford a dress to wear.

A week before the banquet Mrs. Gall called me up to her desk.  At first I thought I had done something wrong.  She asked me if my mother would allow her to take me to the banquet, as she had no daughter to accompany her.  I was so happy to be included in the group, and could hardly wait to ask Mama if I could go.  Of course, she said it would be okay.

Mama stayed up late one night to make me a dress to wear to the banquet.  The night of the banquet, Mrs. Gall picked me up in her car.  At the banquet I sat next to her at the head table where the teachers sat.  I don’t remember what my dress looked like or what we had to eat. But I still remember how special I felt sitting at the head table wearing my new dress. This small act of kindness is one of my fondest childhood memories.

Each day, we have opportunities to show kindness to someone else, especially to our family members, whom we usually take for granted.  Usually, those who are the hardest to love need love the most, and an act of kindness can help determine not only the way our day will go, but it may impact someone else’s day in a positive way.  Let’s try to make kindness a habit in our daily living.  

“Be kind and compassionate to one another…”Ephesians 4:32