Blog

Most of my teaching career has been in schools (or districts) where the amount of poverty is high. While there are certainly pockets of middle class families and even a few sprinkled in who are higher middle class, the majority of students that I work with are not.

Over the years I have come to realize that God has given me great wealth and blessings. He has given it to me, not so that I can “sit in it,” but so that I can use it to bless others. And I have. But I am not alone in this endeavor. I have seen countless other teachers and staff give of their own resources time and time again to meet the basic needs of the students who walk in our doors. Why? Because we care about them. They are our kids.

This past week a student’s need rose to the top for myself and a few others. She is a child that I have known for years now, and while I do believe that her family is doing the best that they can, I know that life is not easy for them.

This is a girl who comes in disheveled. Daily. I’m not sure I have ever seen her look clean. Ever. Dirt marks and grime appear to be stained on her exposed arms and neck. Her nails appear like a french manicure – but instead of polish to achieve the look, black dirt is packed under each nail. Her hair rarely looks brushed, but always looks greasy. Now and then the hair will reveal yet another batch of lice.

Yet, it’s not her appearance that is the hardest part. She smells. I’m not talking about the typical pre-adolescent smell of her classmates – but a lingering stench that will overwhelm any room or hallway she walks into. The odor is so strong that it brings a gag reflex. The odor is so pungent that it is absolutely unidentifiable.

The smell is overwhelming. The smell impacts the way people interact with her. Our office staff, out of care and concern for this girl have in the past called mom trying to get mom to wash clothes and make sure that the girl was cleaned, with little to no success.

Mom is doing the best she can. It’s not enough.

So we came up with a plan. While not likely to remedy the entire situation in anyway, we decided to purchase some clothing to be kept at school (5 outfits). Each day when the child would arrive, she would come into the office and change into her school clothes, and use some wipes to help clean herself up in the health room bathroom. Each day before leaving she would change back into her home clothes leaving the school ones to be cleaned by school staff.

I was elected to talk with the girl and explain the plan. We talked while taking a nice walk around the school property. The conversation went well. She asked me to write a note to her mom to explain the plan, in case she forgot pieces or her mom had questions. I did.

Shortly after school, mom called. Angry. Her child didn’t smell. She didn’t like this plan. She hung up. A few minutes later she called again. Angry. She would go along with this plan because she felt like she had to, but she still didn’t like this plan. She hung up.

Monday came. The plan began. And this girl came for a scheduled time with me. Angry. Very angry. At me. We talked, but with little resolution. I kept assuring her that our intention was to help her, just as we had talked about.

Honestly, I was frustrated about the response. I know she is aware she smells, because people have said it to her and about her. But here she was acting like she didn’t, and trying to reject the effort – the gift – the blessing that was being offered. And I knew that this was what was best for her!

And bam. It hit me. We are just the same. Aren’t we? We sit in our stench of sin and we like it. We are comfortable there. It feels like home. We are offered a gift from the Savior – a great gift which will cost us nothing but give us everything – and we aren’t really sure we want it. It means change. It means getting cleaned up, and frankly we aren’t sure we want that.

Friend, with all my heart, I want to be done with the stench of my sin. I want to be done with my sin-nature, and instead put on the new clothing of God’s grace. And I don’t want it just for myself, I want it for my friends and loved ones too.

We have a choice. We can choose the gift – the new clothing – or we can reject it. Will we choose the fragrance of grace? Or the aroma of sin?

Blessings!