Madison is one of my favorites ever. A junior now, she played basketball for me in middle school, a career which began with my recruiting her out of a PE class. She's an excellent student to go along with her athletic endeavors on the varsity level in basketball and volleyball. Last Friday, we took Test #4 in my three sections of Gospels. I'm pretty sure she made a 99% but I don't have her grade in front of me. This isn't about her A on the exam. Madison made another impression on me during that testing process but not in the way you might imagine.
We don't have seating charts typically in my classes unless dictated by chattiness. Madison sits front and center, right where you expect superior students to park themselves. But when I handed Madison her blank test four days ago, she made an odd request: she asked for a different test. Of course, I asked why and her reply caught me off guard:
"Because this one has a crease in it."
Sure enough, it did at the bottom right corner, apparently being marred in this way when being picked up from our print office. I thought she was joking- she wasn't. I acquiesced and gave her a second one, while kidding her about the swap. It didn't distract her to the extent of hurting her average. It's stayed on my mind so this afternoon, I asked Jean, my senior teacher's aide who aced the same class last year if it would bother her.
"Of course!"
Why?
"It has a crease in it!"
Just to make sure, I asked the young ladies in my eighth period, eighth grade Bible class this afternoon. Unanimous agreement with the lovely Madison. It wasn't the first time I've been outvoted by the fairer gender and I'm sure it won't be the last. I've quit arguing and just accepted the inevitable. Life's easier that way.
Isn't it funny how we all have small annoyances that baffle other people, or in this case, the opposite sex. We all have them, regardless of party affiliation or ethnicity or age or occupation or gender. My little thing might be your big thing. Ironically, our quiz today in Gospels from Luke 6 covered Jesus' illustration of the speck and the plank in the eyes. Your speck, I'm convinced, is often my plank and vice versa. Typically, it's unimportant to one of us, like the slight fold in the paper is to me. Making big things out of nothing only leads to trouble and sometimes, heartache. We know people like that. Sometimes, we are people like that. Let it go. Usually, it's not worth the paper it was written on or the fight that may ensue. I give in. You win, Madison!
Applicable quote of the day:
It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.
Arthur Conan Doyle
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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