"I want to show you a short video," she said. Prof Miller's soft voice was making me sleepy.
"I want to show you a video explaining a why factor," she continued. "So many times we focus on what is at hand, that we lose sight of why we do what we do in the first place."
What a mouthful, I thought. She didn't seem to be making any sense and she couldn't have been more confusing. I didn't have anything better to do, I was still a prisoner of the classroom, so instead of falling asleep, I decided to pay attention to the video she was about to show.
"He's not a normal teacher. Everybody loves him." A boy about 16 years old began, "He's the epitome of what a great teacher should be like."
A man referred to as "Mr. Wright" was now on screen- and his arm was on fire. You see, Mr. Wright is a high school science teacher.
"I've been on my own since I was 15 years old. Mr. Wright knows that. He's someone I have been able to tell things to, I can trust him. And I know he cares about his students," a young girl said.
The camera was back on Mr. Wright and this time he was shooting a potato through a pipe across a field.
"I've heard everything from, 'Mr. Wright, I'm pregnant' to 'Mr. Wright, I ran away from home'. I've seen things most people don't even know go on in a young person's life. Some of these kids are just wanting to be loved on, they're different- and that's why one size doesn't fit all inside my classroom," the science teacher said.
I was already intrigued by Professor Pam's video, and I remenisiced about my high school days. Mr. Wright reminded me of my biology teacher I had my sophomore year. But I still couldn't find out what was so special about this guy. What was the underlying reason for his incredibly caring heart? He had a passion for reaching out to high school kids. So what. A lot of teachers do. That's why they're teachers. But I continued to watch.
The interview with Mr. Wright suddenly took a new angle when he began to talk about his family.
"I have two kids," he started. My daughter is 15 going on 25. She's your normal teenage girl, you know, she gets embarrased when I give her a kiss goodbye, and she thinks I am the world's dumbest dad. But I love her to pieces just like any father would," he went on, "And then there's Adam. I was so excited when I found out my wife was pregnant with a boy. It was like I had the best of both worlds. I couldn't wait to go to ball games and thow a football, you know, do men stuff with my son someday," he paused.
"But when Adam was born, he was breathing 180 times a minute. That's more than three times a second. Adam was born with a rare disease similar to cerebral palsy. The doctor told us he was completely blind, and he would never be able to control any muscle in his body. My son has a perfect mind. He can think and he has the ability to learn, but he cannot control the muscles in his body. Sometimes Adam punches himself so hard he bleeds. If he falls out of bed in the middle of the night and I'm not there to help him back up in bed, he'll lay flat on the floor all night long until morning."
It was so quiet in the classroom now that you would have been able to hear a pin drop.
"For a long time, I was pissed at God. I didn't undersand why He would give me a son who couldn't talk to me, who would never be able to stand on his own two feet by himself. I got so angry. . . until this one day when I walked in on my daughter sitting in her room with Adam propped up against the side of one of her dolls. I asked her what in the heck she was doing, and she simply replied, 'Playing with Adam, Daddy'. How was she playing with Adam when he couldn't even see her, I thought. And then I understood. My daughter was holding up a dollar bill and she was telling Adam to hit it. And he hit it every time. Every single time. . . which meant that Adam couldn't be blind. We decided to teach Adam sign language. And I'll never forget the day he signed this to me."
It was the weirdest thing, I had just learned the sign for "daddy" in sign language class the day before.
"It means, 'Daddy, I love you," Wright said, tears flowing down his cheeks as he continued to tell the story of his son for his students.
If I was holding back the tears before, I wasn't now.
The b-roll continued to show this man caring for his 12-year-old handicapped son. Changing his diapers, and feeding him. Loving him. It was a picture of a completely average man, loving his son in the most incredible way. And that's what broke me.
I finally understood why. I saw a glimpse of what unconditional love looks like- and I felt it. Here was a father who was given a son who could never tangibly repay him- who would never be able to throw a football, or wrestle, who would never be able to tell him all the ways he loved his dad.
I felt my chair sinking to floor. And I thought about all the ways Mr. Wright's story symbolized the story of the cross. How little I felt. How small and irresponsible I am. How many times I fail, but His blood still covers a multitude of sins. How paralyzed and worthless I am without His forgiveness. How the Lord doesn't need me for a second, but still, He loves me.
Sometimes, what it is we care for, or what we love isn't everything. It's why. Why do we love? Why do we forgive? Why do we do what we do? Is it because we're supposed to? Is it because we can gain something back from who or what we love or forgive?
Mr. Wright's story is something amazing. But how much greater is our Father's love for us?
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end." Lamentations 3:22
"He's not a normal teacher. Everybody loves him." A boy about 16 years old began, "He's the epitome of what a great teacher should be like."
A man referred to as "Mr. Wright" was now on screen- and his arm was on fire. You see, Mr. Wright is a high school science teacher.
"I've been on my own since I was 15 years old. Mr. Wright knows that. He's someone I have been able to tell things to, I can trust him. And I know he cares about his students," a young girl said.
The camera was back on Mr. Wright and this time he was shooting a potato through a pipe across a field.
"I've heard everything from, 'Mr. Wright, I'm pregnant' to 'Mr. Wright, I ran away from home'. I've seen things most people don't even know go on in a young person's life. Some of these kids are just wanting to be loved on, they're different- and that's why one size doesn't fit all inside my classroom," the science teacher said.
I was already intrigued by Professor Pam's video, and I remenisiced about my high school days. Mr. Wright reminded me of my biology teacher I had my sophomore year. But I still couldn't find out what was so special about this guy. What was the underlying reason for his incredibly caring heart? He had a passion for reaching out to high school kids. So what. A lot of teachers do. That's why they're teachers. But I continued to watch.
The interview with Mr. Wright suddenly took a new angle when he began to talk about his family.
"I have two kids," he started. My daughter is 15 going on 25. She's your normal teenage girl, you know, she gets embarrased when I give her a kiss goodbye, and she thinks I am the world's dumbest dad. But I love her to pieces just like any father would," he went on, "And then there's Adam. I was so excited when I found out my wife was pregnant with a boy. It was like I had the best of both worlds. I couldn't wait to go to ball games and thow a football, you know, do men stuff with my son someday," he paused.
"But when Adam was born, he was breathing 180 times a minute. That's more than three times a second. Adam was born with a rare disease similar to cerebral palsy. The doctor told us he was completely blind, and he would never be able to control any muscle in his body. My son has a perfect mind. He can think and he has the ability to learn, but he cannot control the muscles in his body. Sometimes Adam punches himself so hard he bleeds. If he falls out of bed in the middle of the night and I'm not there to help him back up in bed, he'll lay flat on the floor all night long until morning."
It was so quiet in the classroom now that you would have been able to hear a pin drop.
"For a long time, I was pissed at God. I didn't undersand why He would give me a son who couldn't talk to me, who would never be able to stand on his own two feet by himself. I got so angry. . . until this one day when I walked in on my daughter sitting in her room with Adam propped up against the side of one of her dolls. I asked her what in the heck she was doing, and she simply replied, 'Playing with Adam, Daddy'. How was she playing with Adam when he couldn't even see her, I thought. And then I understood. My daughter was holding up a dollar bill and she was telling Adam to hit it. And he hit it every time. Every single time. . . which meant that Adam couldn't be blind. We decided to teach Adam sign language. And I'll never forget the day he signed this to me."
It was the weirdest thing, I had just learned the sign for "daddy" in sign language class the day before.
"It means, 'Daddy, I love you," Wright said, tears flowing down his cheeks as he continued to tell the story of his son for his students.
If I was holding back the tears before, I wasn't now.
The b-roll continued to show this man caring for his 12-year-old handicapped son. Changing his diapers, and feeding him. Loving him. It was a picture of a completely average man, loving his son in the most incredible way. And that's what broke me.
I finally understood why. I saw a glimpse of what unconditional love looks like- and I felt it. Here was a father who was given a son who could never tangibly repay him- who would never be able to throw a football, or wrestle, who would never be able to tell him all the ways he loved his dad.
I felt my chair sinking to floor. And I thought about all the ways Mr. Wright's story symbolized the story of the cross. How little I felt. How small and irresponsible I am. How many times I fail, but His blood still covers a multitude of sins. How paralyzed and worthless I am without His forgiveness. How the Lord doesn't need me for a second, but still, He loves me.
Sometimes, what it is we care for, or what we love isn't everything. It's why. Why do we love? Why do we forgive? Why do we do what we do? Is it because we're supposed to? Is it because we can gain something back from who or what we love or forgive?
Mr. Wright's story is something amazing. But how much greater is our Father's love for us?
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end." Lamentations 3:22
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