Something Holy

I got to participate in something holy today, something sacred.  And it didn’t happen in a church, a temple or a mosque.  It happened in a middle school math class. 

The class I was given to teach officially ended last week, but I still have time on the books.  So I told the students that I would be available this week for those who wanted additional help.  Today was Monday and no one came.  I spoke with two kids and one had an excuse and the other just didn’t show.  It was 4:40 and another kid walked by.  He hesitated near my room so I invited him in, along with a friend.  Then we worked.  We didn’t get a lot done, but I saw where he was struggling and I watched him have some success.  I gave him and his friends a timed multiplication test.  Neither one of them completed it in the allotted time.   It doesn’t matter.  They got more practice.  We got some work done.

What was the holy part?  What was sacred?  Part of it was me being in my Purpose and helping this boy.  This isn’t bragging.  This is fact.  When we are in our Purpose, we become saints.  We become holy.  We become sacred.  We are, at that moment, set apart by God, for a greater Purpose.   This is true of anyone who goes into his or her Purpose.

Another part of the sacredness, the greater part, was this boy walking in and trying.  He was scared and embarrassed, but he wanted to change his life, or at least this part of it.  He didn’t want to be who he was any longer.  He’s 13 years old and he wanted to grow up.  That was the real holiness.  It could be argued that I was just doing my job.  But this boy was doing something greater.  He was trying to make his life work.  He was trying to go beyond his limitations and fears.  Perhaps they were self-imposed.  Perhaps others put them on him.  It doesn’t matter.  He was trying to go beyond them.  This wasn’t because his parents, friends or teachers were telling him what to do.  He made this choice.  By himself.  Will he make the same choice tomorrow?  I don’t know.  My prayer for him is that God will give him extra grace and protect him from both internal and external Enemies who want to keep this boy struggling and defeated. 

There are thousand, millions of boys and girls like this and none of them is too young to make a pivotal decision.  Though neither he nor I knew it, the moment he walked in the door, something sacred happened and I got to be a part of it.   I got to watch somebody Get Started and Keep Going.  I hope I get to see this again every day for the rest of my life.