Testimony
of Love
Reckless words
pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18
Now in her nineties, Martha had taught
Second Grade. “Emma was a beautiful little girl, but I could tell
there was something wrong that day.” She shook her head sadly,
remembering how her heart hurt for Emma.
“She just sat there, gazing longingly
out the window at the other children as they laughed and played. I
asked, ‘Why aren't you outside with the other kids?’ Her answer
broke my heart. ‘They don’t want to play with me, Mrs. Stull.
They think I stink.’
I sat her in my lap and hugged her
tight. I remember telling her, 'You are beautiful and I love you.’
She looked up at me and smiled. The belt on her tattered and soiled
dress was hanging loosely so I tied it in a knot and told her to tell
the others it was a ‘love knot’ tied by Mrs. Stull.
I always wondered what happened to
Emma. Then one day, some thirty years later, a woman called my home
and asked, ‘Are you the Mrs. Stull who taught at Elmwood Elementary
School?’ I said I was, and she said, ‘Oh, I’m so glad I found
you! I wanted to tell you how much it meant to me that you cared
enough to put me in your lap and hug me that day! You saved my life!
You didn’t know it, but my brother was sexually molesting me at the
time, and I felt so worthless… but you told me you loved me, and
that gave me the strength to go on! I now speak world-wide, telling
women my story, encouraging them, and assuring them that they are
beautiful and worthy of God’s love!’
†
We have the power to help heal wounds
if we take the opportunity to say a kind word or do a kind act when
it presents itself. Simple acts of kindness can heal a hurting heart,
and far outlive the healer’s lifetime.
Emma was dealing with far more than any
eight-year-old girl was ever meant to when Mrs. Stull saw a hurting
child and acted in love. We can do the same when Holy Spirit leads us
to those who are hurting.
Prayer
“Lord, show me someone
who is hurting today, and fill my mouth with words of wisdom, so they
feel Your love. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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