A 14 year old boy named Daniel walked the halls of his new junior high school with anxiety and timidness. He’d never quite fit in at school his entire life, so why would now be any different. Daniel wore a pair of rugged and fading blue jeans, with a gray shirt that was fading equally as far. His mother worked as a janitor for a local business, and his father worked at the post office. Their combined wages were just barely enough to care for their son and themselves. Daniel had no brothers and sisters, and had a hard time in public places. He often smelled funny and the children at school mostly left him alone completely, or poked fun at him.
One day, while Daniel was walking through the halls in school, a couple of kids thought it would be funny to knock his books out of his hands. As they ran back, pushing him and knocking his books to the floor, Daniel bent down to pick them up. Holding back his tears, he gathered the books up, one by one. He stood up, and stumbled to his locker, getting ready for his next class.
On another occasion, Daniel was in gym class. He had a hard time with sports and doing physical activities. He was slow and weak, and never spent much time doing anything physical related. In gym class, as the students were jumping rope, Daniel tripped over his rope several times. There were other students that laughed at him, making rude noises towards him. Daniel did the best he could even with being made fun of.
In the lunchroom, Daniel received his food on his tray and sat down at a table, all by himself. No students seemed to want to sit down next to him as he smelled and looked funny. As Daniel stared at his food and ate his lunch, a student sat across from his table. It was Calvin, the captain of the basketball team. Calvin asked Daniel if he could sit by him. Daniel barely looked at him, shrugging his shoulders.
As Daniel ate lunch, Calvin talked casually with him, asking him how things were going and how family life was. Slowly, Daniel began to open up to Calvin. Later in the day, Calvin walked with Daniel in the halls. Nobody was pushing him or knocking his books out of his hands. In gym class, Calvin stood next to Daniel, helping and teaching him. Calvin even stumbled a few times as he did this, breaking a smile from Daniel.
Over time, Calvin became a good friend to Daniel. Daniel soon developed coordination and confidence. He looked forward instead of at the floor. Daniel went on to finish high school and go on to study medicine. The kind actions of one person to spend a little time with another greatly influenced the life of Daniel. Because one person cared, Daniel’s life took a new turn for the better.
Show some compassion to someone today
Perhaps you know a Daniel in your life. Someone who is struggling, but is unwilling to ask for help. Or maybe in your own family there is a brother or sister who needs guidance. Whoever it is, take a few minutes to just talk to them. Spend some time with them and tell them how thankful you are for them. It is amazing the transformation that can take place when someone knows they are cared about.
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