REALMuestra

Two Hundred Brownies

By Niles Holsinger 

Lanette was a seventh-grade teacher I met during an outreach to one of our local middle schools. When we met, she was eight days away from completing her first year of teaching. It wasn’t her first career. Actually, it was her third. She explained to me that when the Lord began to speak to her about leaving her high-level job in the banking industry and going back to school to become a teacher, she thought it was a mid-life crisis. She was in her mid-forties and had an established reputation in a great field but realized something was missing. She wanted a career that would allow her to spend the rest of her life building others up.

On the first day of school, she looked at her students and said, “This year, you will love me and sometimes you will hate me—but I will only love you.” Now, if you’ve ever been around a seventh-grade student, you know that statement would be put to the test very quickly. I asked her if she still felt the same way about her students now that the school year was coming to a close, and she answered, “You know what I did on Memorial Day? I made 200 brownies from scratch and wrapped them up to give to each of my students. I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t still love them.”

Lanette was excited that the school year was coming to an end, but she was even more excited about the news that her teaching contract had been renewed for another year, and she would be back with the students she loves.

When I think of her, I think of what my life would look like if I was completely driven by love. Could I do what she did? Could I change the entire course of my life to love people better? Could my eyes see with a love that “will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8)? When I think of Lanette, I am reminded of Jesus.

Can you imagine the feelings of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 when she looked up into the eyes of Jesus and experienced forgiveness and peace instead of judgment? And the leper in Matthew 8; think of his shock when Jesus touched him (Jews were not allowed to touch lepers according to Leviticus) and healed him of a disease that had no cure.

If we want to be relevant to the world around us, it begins with us loving the world around us. We need more people like Lanette because we need more people like Jesus. What will you do to show the love of Jesus to the world around you today? You may not need to make 200 brownies, but a simple act of love and grace can make a huge difference in someone’s life.

Prayer

Lord, I pray that You would open my heart to love the way You love. To see people not for their faults or shame, but for their value. I pray that when people meet me, they only see You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Memory Verse

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Proverbs 4:23–26 (NLT)