One hour late
by Rev. Eddie Cabrera
January 23, 2023

A school principle related this story to an assembly of teachers: “The previous year, we had an eighth-grade student whose situation brought much grief to the school community. All of a sudden and for no apparent reason, this thirteen-year-old boy had started coming to school one hour late every day.

“I couldn’t get him to come to school on time. First, I sent notes to his parents. He would bring them back the next day signed by his parents—an hour late.

“Next I disciplined him. The next day he showed up at school—an hour late. No matter what disciplinary method was tried, the following day he would still come an hour late. Finally, we suspended him for a few days. His first day back at school he walked in—an hour late.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore, so the next day I contacted social services. The social worker accompanied me to the boy’s home. We walked up to the front door and knocked. No one answered. So I turned the doorknob. It was open, so we walked in, and what we found wasn’t very pretty.

“We discovered that two months earlier, while he was at school, the boy’s parents left home. They left a large supply of food in the cupboards and fridge, but they were gone. They boy had no idea where they were.

“He felt abandoned and betrayed and ashamed to tell the story to the school administrators. So every day he would get his eight-year-old sister and six-year-old brother out of bed, bathe and dress them for school, and then walk them to their elementary school two miles away. Try as he might, he could never run fast enough to get to his own school earlier than one hour late.” “Cries of the Heart,” page 137-138.

Well, what do you think? It’s not until you take an extra step or two that you find the truth about why things are they way they are in a person’s life. Care enough about your neighbor to love them as you would want to be loved.

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