Student G and Hallway Prayer

Greetings Everybody,
One day last week, as I was sitting at my desk working on lesson plans and my student teacher was greeting incoming students, a young man whom I am going to call "Student G" came to my door.


 My student teacher did not know who he was, and she asked him what she could do for him.


He was very serious looking.  


And to be honest,  he was somewhat dismissive of her presence, but he muttered that he needed to speak to Mrs. Grace.


She looked over her shoulder at me as I looked up to see what was going on. 
I recognized the young man, and gave her the head nod.


She walked away from the door to start class, and I walked out of the door, shutting it behind me as I stepped into the hallway.


And there was Student G...a young man I taught several years go.  He is a senior now.  And he looked terrible.


Let me word-paint this student for you:
This young man is immaculate.  He is the essence of the well dressed African American male at the high school age. His hair is trimmed in a stylish cut. He dresses with attention to detail and is always wearing clothing that this is stylish. He is articulate, well mannered, has a ready smile and is a hard working student.


He makes good grades and is the kind of kid that employers would love to hire.


And he is very popular.  The girls swoon over him and say that they love his caramel colored eyes.


But something was wrong with those eyes when he looked at me that day.
For one thing, he could barely make eye contact with me...kept looking at his shoes.
And for another...when he did look up, those eyes were very sad.


I realized that whatever he was about to say to me was going to be something difficult.


I called him by name and asked him what was going on.


And he took a deep breath, and then said, "Mrs. Grace, I am here to ask you to pray with me.  I did something  really bad last night. And I need to you to pray with me."


Then it was MY turn to take a deep breath.


And I asked him what happened.


Student G went on to tell me that he had gotten caught shoplifting and had been sent to jail the night before.


He had spent 6 hours in that jail.


This kid has everything going for him and then in the blink of an eye, he made a decision that will greatly impact his life.


He told me that his dad had been able to get him released.
He told me that he is ashamed of what he did and that it was wrong and stupid.


As he finished his story, he said that he is going to have to go to court.


So right then, right there in the hallway, I put my hands on his shoulders, bowed my head and began to pray.


He cried while I spoke to God...and I did to.


And when I was done, he hugged me, and then I escorted him to his next class.


On the way, I asked him if he noticed that I did not ask God to take away the guilt he was feeling.


He nodded.


I had prayed that the judge would be a Godly person and able to render a verdict that was a blend of justice and mercy.


And I prayed for the relationship between the young man and his parents.


And I prayed for the young mans' relationship with God.


But I did NOT ask God to take away the guilt...because I know that the guilt he feels is between God and him and that he needs to approach God all by himself on that issue.


I did tell him that I wanted him to remember this horrible feeling of guilt.


And I told him that guilt is what we are SUPPOSED to feel when we do something wrong.


And I told him that he needed to talk to God about it.


He nodded.
And I know he understood.


Now here's where this story shows how God puts people in the right place at the right time....


The class he was now tardy for (because he came to see me instead of going to his next class), is taught by a retired minister. (Yes God really is THAT Good!).


When we arrived at Student G's next class, I asked the teacher to step out in the hallway...and the young man spoke honestly with this teacher about why he was tardy.


He told the man about the crime had committed and about jail... and about coming to see me for prayer.


And I left the young man in the hands of a Believer whom I knew would not write a tardy referral for a kid who had been seeking spiritual help.


If people think that God is dead in Public Schools...they are very wrong.


God is alive and well and thriving in Public Schools.


And God positioned not just ONE, but TWO Christian Teachers to help this young man on a day when he needed it so badly.


We are called to be Salt and Light, wherever we are.


In Him,
Grace