Each week at the nearby elementary school, I work with a 1st grader who struggles to read. I’ve written many times about the sad stories from my time with him. But lately, he’s done great. He’s been happy and all-smiles for the last 3 sessions. What’s the difference?
His dad broke up with his live-in girlfriend. In the interim, dad needed a place to stay and moved in with my little friend and his mother.
Mom and dad were together again! Dad even slept in his room at night!
What 6-year-old wouldn’t want mommy and daddy back together? How fun would it feel to have slumber parties with Daddy each night?!
But my little friend was distracted and depressed today. The tears began flowing.
What changed?
Daddy reunited with his girlfriend and moved out his things last night. So tonight, my buddy will sleep alone in his room. And, next weekend, he will spend a weekend in a home where he feels unwelcomed by another adult and her older children.
In a few seconds this morning, I switched from ‘Tutor’ to ‘Listener.’ I listened to big feelings pouring from the lips of a little body. Once again, he has to adjust to the new ‘normal’ in his parents’ lives. With mental chaos like that, something’s gotta give.
This morning, what ‘gave’ was his ability to focus on academics, or even differentiate the letter b from the letter d. He couldn’t concentrate and he couldn’t hold back the tears.
I’m not an expert on Illiteracy, Poverty, or the academic disparity between socio-economic groups and races. I’m just a volunteer who spends 30 minutes each week showing a hurting boy I care. I can’t change the world. I probably can’t even change this little boy’s world. But I can change his mental “count” of how many adults care about him. With me, he’s got one more grownup in his corner.
You can do the same for the hurting children in your neighborhood. Call your nearest public school and ask, “how can I volunteer?”
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 1 Corinthians 1:3-4
