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Straight From the Heart
http://www.storiesfrommyheart.com
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SermonsOnTheNet

A weekly message of inspiration; for those searching for a deeper relationship
with God through His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Millions of high school students look forward to their senior year.  Rachel tells us a little about her feelings as she starts hers this fall.  Thank you for a wonderful story Rachel, and thank the Lord for teachers like Mrs. Appleton!  Hoping your senior year will be a memorable one, and may you write many more heartfelt stories in the years to come!

(Readers:  Make sure you write to Rachel and encourage her in her young writing career!)

 

By Rachel Harnish
 

Ahhh, September.  A beautiful time of year - different colored leaves
on the trees, crisp fall air . . . and every kid's jolt back to reality. 
Time to abandon the freedoms of summer for another year in the confines of
classrooms.  But for me, this year is different.  This year I know that
never again will I walk through these doors on the first day of school,
hearing kids grumbling about getting up before ten o'clock for the first
time all summer, watching cheerleaders compare tans, and trying in vain to
find a place in the chaos.  I know that this is the last time I will be
greeted by an empty locker and the clean smell of a school free for three
months from smoke in the bathroom and rotten peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches in kids' lockers.  And even though another year of trials
stretches before me, I feel a sort of elation at the fact that the end is in
sight.  At the same time, however, I am strangely gripped with an
unexplainable feeling of nostalgia.  Senior year.  I finally made it, and if
all goes according to plan I will graduate with honors in June.  And
suddenly, with startling clarity, I realize how much more this place has
been to me than essays and exams, books and pencils.  Years of my life are
wrapped up here, and inside these walls I grew and developed into the person
that I am today.  And so, staring into my empty locker, I begin to
reminisce.
     Not surprisingly, one of the first places my mind takes me is to the
room that has been my hangout and my haven for the last six years.  I smile
easily as I picture it - the one sanctuary in this cold and unfriendly place
in which I feel comfortable and at ease to be myself.  My heart swells
further when I think of the person who made it that way.  She is a
beautiful, vibrant young woman who dedicates her life to two of the world's
worthiest causes - teaching school and raising children.  She is a junior
high language arts teacher at a rural Pennsylvania high school.  And she is
my hero.
     As I continue to think about this woman, about the blessing she has
been to me and the tremendous impact she has had on my life, I can't help
looking also at what a wreck I used to be.  An empty shell of a person just
trying to survive in the cruel and harsh reality that is adolescence, trying
to find a place in a world ruled by stereotypes and superficiality.  My
musings lead me to the sobering thought of where I might be today if it
weren't for one teacher with a compassionate spirit and a heart of gold.  I
prayed for a way out in those days.  I was in a depression of such severity
that death looked like a favorable option.  But I prayed that God would open
a different door for me before I was overcome by the pain and grief that had
become a way of life.  I prayed for an angel, and God sent Miss Appleton.
     Because He gave her a name like Miss Appleton, I suppose that God knew
she would be a great teacher someday.  But Miss Appleton's talents go much
further.  Lucky for me, and others she has "rescued", this woman has an
incredible talent for scoping out the kids that no one notices.  She takes
special care to reach out to the kid with the braces that make her talk
funny, the one who walks with a limp, the one who is overweight or shy . . .
or the one who is lost in the crowd.  From the first day of class, she was
encouraging me not to ALLOW myself to be overlooked, pushing me to do more,
push harder, go farther.  When someone is in such a state of depression, his
or her tendency is to block all emotion, and the edges of apathy creep in
steadily.  Miss Appleton made it clear that this was not acceptable.  "You
can do better," she would tell me.  "I've seen you write; I've read your
work.  You've got the talent; now put forth the effort."  And the more I
grew to love her, the more I wanted to do just that.
     In the years that followed, Miss Appleton went from being just an
enjoyable teacher to being my mentor, friend, and trusted confidant.  She
still encourages me to keep writing, and any time I doubt myself I think of
her words, spoken with a quiet confidence and firm surety that went straight
to my heart.  "I know you're not sure of yourself, and that's okay.  But
when you win that Pulitzer, remember to mention my name.  Then I'll be the
one who can say 'I told you so.'" ..........................

BBBBRRRRIIING!!!!

     The first homeroom bell snaps me back to the present, and I throw my
books in my locker and rush down the hall.  Running into class, I flop into
a seat just in time for attendance and take time to thank God once again for
the woman who looked out for the forgotten.  Because of her, I am no longer
lost in the crowd, but am recognized by myself and others as a unique person
with special talents and gifts to offer the world.  Through her example, I
have learned to be kind and compassionate and to accept others for who they
are.  Through her encouragement, I have overcome many of the fears that had
been holding me back for so long.  And through her belief in me, I learned
to believe in myself.

Rachel Harnish
rach223@hotmail.com

Send Rachel an email and let her know what you thought of her story!

 

A little bit about Rachel:

Rachel Harnish is a 17-year-old high school senior (already counting down to
graduation!) who lives with her parents and two sisters in the Pennsylvania
boonies.  After graduation, she plans to attend a small Christian university
and major in some area of education.  She also hopes to someday move down
south where it's WARM and be a stay-at-home mom with a BIG family...although
at this point she'd settle for a prom date!  =)

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REQUESTS:

From:  GCox212517@aol.com

I have a prayer request for an individual name Tom.

Tom has been in the hospital now for 5 weeks. First for exploratory surgery, then removal of cancer tumors and now a staph infection.  Please pray for him and his family.
Thank you,
AGC
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Thought For The Day:

"Chance favors prepared minds."
(Louis Pasteur)

 

Verse for the Day:

"The wise man stores up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin."
Proverbs 10:14

 

Kid's Thought For The Day:

"Don't worry about crossing the street until you get to the curb."

 

Parent's Thought For The Day

"Your kids will feed their new puppy the day you buy it and the days you threaten to take it back to the pet store."
(Bruce Lansky)

 

Coach's Thought For The Day

"The reason for practicing and playing has nothing to do with winning."

 

Deep Thought For The Day:

"I think that someone must have surveillance equipment set up in my living room, because every once in a while, someone on the TV will tell me what channel I'm watching. That really freaks me out, you know?"

 

  _
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\  /    THUNDER27@aol.com  
/_/  \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but
\_\/\ \   Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body I live for the Son
   \_\/   of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Galatians 2:20 

Video Imagery (Michael's Video Production Business.)

"I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least!  Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too.  They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!!  You did such a beautiful job!  They were so surprised and so touched---they really, really, really loved it.  Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all.  My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too!  Thanks again!"
        
Kelli  (RKaGe@aol.com)    College Station, TX

Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies!
Check out the web page for Michael's video production business!
 Video Imagery
http://members.aol.com/Videoimg/index.html

Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
 The Four Spiritual Laws
http://www.ccci.org/laws/index.html

Writer's guidelines for Straight From the Heart can be found here:

Writer's Guidelines
http://storiesfrommyheart.com/writer_s_guidelines/

The copyrights to the stories that appear here are owned by the authors and are used with their permission.  This email may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted, and been given permission, by the individual writer. 
Thanks!

 

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