“Oh Helen, please Helen, don’t smile,” I pleaded silently. “If you do, the teacher will just get madder.”
Helen Zenkovich sat directly across from me in 7th grade social studies in Elmhurst, Illinois, back in 1933. I watched her body stiffen and her mouth begin to widen. Sure enough, Helen’s mocking grin emerged, and Miss Larson’s voice became shriller and shriller.
Helen – in trouble again
Helen also roused the anger of our cooking teacher. Each week we were to have freshly laundered aprons, and then Helen was in trouble again. Once, as we left the class, Hellen hissed to me, “She thinks my mother is a washing machine!”
Helen’s parents had recently moved to America from Russia. Helen had flaming red hair, and she was always in trouble with our teachers. When a teacher started scolding her in front of the class, Helen would start to smile. I hated that smile. It came out as defiance, and it made things worse.
She smiled so she wouldn’t cry, I realized later.
Most of the teachers picked on Helen, but two were kind.
An early, heavy blanket of knee deep snow fell that year, and Helen did not appear in classes all week. Then one day our home room teacher Miss Bell spoke to us about kindness and said parents didn’t always have money to buy things for their children. This was the middle of the Depression, and I puzzled over this special lecture about kindness.
Miss Bell’s kind warning
The next day Helen appeared wearing old-fashioned high button shoes that went out in the 1900’s. I decided Miss Bell was warning us not to make fun because Helen didn’t have the zippered “galoshes” (rubber boots) the rest of us had.
Our English teacher Miss White was also gentle with Helen. One day she told us, “Today we have a wonderful surprise. One of your own classmates is going to tell us how they celebrate Christmas in another country.”
Miss White’s kind invitation
Then she said, “Helen, come here and tell us how Christmas is celebrated in the country where you were born.”
I still remember Helen standing proud and tall before the class. A smile lit up her face as she told us of the beauties of a Russian Christmas. And this time her smile was real.
This experience taught me that harsh words can make a situation worse. But kindness will often break down barriers. And later when I grew older and began reading the Bible, I found that St. Paul taught this, too: “Get rid of anger, harsh words…Instead be kind to each other, tenderhearted…” Ephesians 4:31-32 (LTV)
Today’s prayer
Dear God, please give me a kind heart when I meet difficult people. Help me to understand their point of view. Amen.
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1/13/2021 4:00:00 AM by: Laura Jane Cerling
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Being a Better Parent....One Week at a Time...in January 2021
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12/4/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Ruben Fierro as told to Maria Luisa Navarro
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Ruth & Boaz, Part 2: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
11/12/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Maria Luisa Navarro
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11/9/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Maria Luisa Navarro
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10/30/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Enemies No More, Part 1: a faith based Beatitudes story from the Story Powerline
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Double Minded Doggie: a faith based Beatitudes story from the Story Powerline
10/22/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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10/13/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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Hill of Woman's Fidelity: a faith based Beatitudes story from the Story Powerline
10/1/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Retold by Becky Cerling Powers
In Praise of Naps: tips from the Parent Powerline
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The Way We Homeschooled, Part 1 Balance: from the Parent Powerline
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8/4/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Grandpa Thure Cerling, Part 1: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
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Temptation: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
7/23/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Glen A. Hinshaw
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Honest Abe Lincoln: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
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The Most Conscientious Hunter I Ever Met: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
6/24/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Glen A. Hinshaw
Washing Feet: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
6/17/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers and Lee Merrill Byrd
No Parking: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
6/10/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Ruby Bridges, part 2: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
6/3/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Ruby Bridges, part 1: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
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Raising Fluent Readers: tips from the Parent Powerline
5/29/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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5/26/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Eileen as told to Becky Cerling Powers
Family Funnies: Tips from the Parent Powerline
5/22/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Joey's Letters: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
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5/13/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
New Bride Confusion: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
5/12/2020 4:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Amaris Luz, Light from Darkness: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
4/28/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Lee Merrill Byrd
Losing Poetry: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
4/22/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Let Kids Cure Their Own Boredom: Tips from the Parent Powerline
4/15/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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4/14/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs and Becky Cerling Powers
David, Bathsheba & Psalm 51: a faith based story story from the Story Powerline
4/9/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
The Hundred Chart: math lesson tips from the Parent Powerline
4/8/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
The Beer Would Call Me: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
4/7/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Beatriz Balcort as told to Becky Cerling Powers
Turned Around: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
4/2/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Brian Bolton with Becky Cerling Powers
Toddlers Helping During COVID-19 and Beyond: tips from the Parent Powerline
4/1/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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3/31/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Retold by Becky Cerling Powers
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3/24/2020 10:00:00 PM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
Household Management During COVID-19 Time: tips from the Parent Powerline
3/23/2020 10:00:00 PM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Dreaming of Anita Jo: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
3/12/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
No Complaint Dinners: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
3/10/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Laura Jane Cerling
DIY Plumbing: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
3/5/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Jennifer Cummings
A Brother's Love: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
3/3/2020 7:00:00 AM by: Retold by Becky Cerling Powers
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2/27/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Janimarie Rowe as told to Becky Cerling Powers
My Two Dads, part two: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
2/26/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Janimarie Rowe as told to Becky Cerling Powers
My Two Dads, part one: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
2/25/2020 7:00:00 AM by: Janimarie Rowe as told to Becky Cerling Powers
Grandma's Apron: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
2/20/2020 12:45:00 PM by: Jennifer Cummings
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2/13/2020 12:00:00 PM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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2/5/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Glen Hinshaw
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1/22/2020 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
How the Camel Got His Hump: a retold faith based story
1/13/2020 10:00:00 PM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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1/9/2020 10:01:00 PM by: Laura Jane Cerling
All Things Bright and Beautiful: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
1/7/2020 6:20:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers, poem by Cecil Frances Alexander
One Dollar for a Donut: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
1/1/2020 6:00:00 PM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Star of Wonder
12/26/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
The Shepherds
12/24/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
Mary and the Angel
12/18/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
Zechariah
12/17/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
Christmas Cookies: a a faith based story from the Story Powerline
12/10/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Laura Jane Cerling
First Thanksgiving, Part 2: Beginning in Weakness (a faith based story)
11/28/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Rami Scully
First Thanksgiving, Part 3: Gifts & Gratitude (a faith based story from the Story Powerline)
11/28/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Rami Scully
First Thanksgiving, Part 1: Enduring the Sea Voyage (a faith based story)
11/27/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Rami Scully
Rescuing my Family in Wartime, Part 3: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
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Grandma Time: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
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10/30/2019 3:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
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10/22/2019 7:00:00 AM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Saving Butterscotch: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
10/16/2019 6:00:00 AM by: Karen M. Pickett Ward
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10/8/2019 9:10:00 AM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
Belshazzar: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
10/2/2019 6:45:00 AM by: Retold by Paula Kortkamp Combs
My Mysterious Relative & the Missing Paycheck: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
9/26/2019 3:17:00 PM by: Becky Cerling Powers
Keeping in Touch with Cousins: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
9/24/2019 3:20:00 PM by: Paula Kortkamp Combs
How the Ostrich Got His Long Neck: a faith based retold story from the Story Powerline
9/9/2019 3:49:00 PM by: Retold by Becky Cerling Powers
When Life Goes Up in Smoke: a faith based story from the Story Powerline
8/20/2019 3:28:00 PM by: Glen A. Hinshaw
