Share before winter camp- including, value in what God values

This week I received a breathtaking e-mail from a teenager who went on the recent Young Life winter weekend. And in it she describes this kind of "roof crashing community."

She writes, "When I signed up for the winter weekend there was doubt hanging over me. Unlike all the kids who knew each other from Young Life, I didn't know anyone who was going ... So I climbed onto the bus and sat uncomfortably by myself for more than half of the trip to New York. Suddenly I was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea. You know how you talked about feeling lonely in a crowded room? Well, that's how I felt sitting in that bus packed full of people. Finally, someone came up and sat with me. I don't think he realized how good that made me feel. I could have squeezed him to death. That's how happy I was. He then introduced me to his friends who introduced me to their friends. And as the weekend progressed, I ended up meeting tons of awesome kids that I never would have met ... I can honestly say ... the weekend proved to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me. For the first time ever, I felt the presence of God and I made the decision to hand my life over to him for good ... I continue to attend Young Life and Valley View High where I have experienced a community like never before!"

Dale Galloway tells the story of a young boy named Teddy Stollard. He wasn't the kind of kid who got invited to parties. He looked bored most of the time. He only spoke when spoken to and even then in one-syllable words. He never dressed right, looked right and wore smelly clothes. He didn't do well in school. In fact, when the teacher would mark Teddy's papers she got a twisted kind of thrill marking all the wrong answers and putting a big fat "F" on top of the page. She should have known better, because his history was on record.

In first grade, Teddy had been a good boy and showed promised, but had a poor home situation. In second grade, Teddy was quiet and withdrawn. His mother was terminally ill. In third grade, Teddy was falling behind. His mother died that year and his father was uninvolved. In fourth grade, Teddy was hopelessly backward. His father had moved away and he was living with an aunt and deeply troubled.

Christmas came and all the children in Teddy's class brought gifts to school to give to the teacher. They were all nicely wrapped, some with big, bright bows, except for Teddy's package. It was in a brown paper bag and not quite held together by tape.

One by one his teacher, Miss Thompson, would open the gifts for the whole class to admire. When she opened Teddy's gift she found a rhinestone bracelet with most of the stones missing and a bottle of perfume that was almost empty. The other kids started to laugh, but Miss Thompson caught herself. Snapping on the bracelet, she said, "Isn't it lovely, class? And doesn't the perfume smell good?"

At the end of the class, Teddy stayed after and said, "I'm glad you liked my gifts, Miss Thompson. All day long you smelled like my mother. And her bracelet looks nice on you, too."

After he left, his teacher put her head down on the desk and cried. She asked God to forgive her and prayed that God would help her to see what he sees when he looks at a motherless boy. The next day, when the children came back to school, Miss Thompson was a new teacher. She tutored the children who needed extra help, Teddy most of all. And by the end of the year he had caught up with most of his classmates and was even ahead of some. After that, she didn't hear from Teddy for quite a while until one day she received a note.

Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know I am graduating from high school, and I am second in my class. Love, Teddy Stollard

Four years later came another note. Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know I am graduating from college first in my class. The university has not been easy, but I liked it. Love, Teddy Stollard

Four years later, another note came. Dear Miss Thompson, I wanted you to be the first to know that as of today I am Theodore J. Stollard, M.D. How about that? I want you to come sit where my mother would have sat, because you're the nearest thing to family that I've had. Love, Teddy Stollard

The ability to assign worth and value is one of the rarest and greatest gifts in the world. May God help all of us to value what God values and to understand how much we've all been forgiven.