Verity - Reaping what you sow

“Verity - the quality or state of being true or real; Balderdash – nonsense.”

Miriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Reaping what you sow

Verities & Balderdash

By Bob Robinson

I ran into an old friend Friday… hadn’t seen her in months. It was great – she showed me a photo of her new little one… a beautiful and precious baby girl. But more important, she was happier than when I’d last seen her.

It meant a lot, as she was one of those people who was there for me in my time of pain. Some of you might remember, she’s the one who told me about “The Bell.”

As I was searching for special messages for today, I found this and remembered…

There is a miracle called friendship, that dwells in the heart. You do not know how it happens or when it gets its start.

But you know the special lift it always brings. You realize that friendship is the world's most precious gift!

A friend is someone we treasure. A friend is someone who fills our lives with beauty, joy, and grace, and makes the world we live in a better, happier place.

This is a message that I hope will mean as much to you as it does to me.

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room 
on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they 
discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with 
themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

'We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.'

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

'Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can see, Mark treasured it.'

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home.'

Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.'

'I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary'

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I carry this with me at 
all times,' Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists.'

That's when the teacher sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

You reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.

Remember, verities should be thought provoking; balderdash is nonsense.

See you next time.

Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive a daily notification of his comments, opinions and reports, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.