When I entered grade 3 in high school (Equivalent to Grade 10 in North America),
I was assigned a teacher who hated Francophones. This was of concern to me, for
I was francophone, and his subject of expertise was Dutch! Needless to say, I
was adequately warned about him; but all I could do was pray about my
circumstances.
The first day in his class, he approached me, put his two fists on my desk and
started to make grotesque grimaces right in my face. Unfortunately for him, I
had been told that this is what he did to all francophone students, and I knew
that if I laughed, I would unconditionally fail his class, no matter how hard I
worked. Instead of laughing, I forced my imagination to transport me back to my
family vacation that summer, in sunny Spain. Even though he was right in my
face, I truly could not see him.
Then, suddenly, he started to laugh! Alarmed, my mind immediately returned to
Belgium. What did this mean?
That day this teacher became my friend. I was the first francophone to take him
seriously, even despite his grimaces. I worked hard in his class and he
appreciated that. He always referred to me and applauded all my endeavors. In
fact, a cartoon began circulating around school. It was a caricature of my Dutch
teacher holding a balloon with my face on it. In the end, I passed his class,
and I was the first francophone to do so. My fellow students were completely
astonished.
We never have to fear anything. We can trust our Heavenly Father, no matter
what. Even our worst nightmares can be turned into Heavenly bless. After all, we
are children of the Most High and we are guaranteed that our Father cares for
us.
"What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what
happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down
to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be
intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries."
(Matthew 10:29-31,MSG)
That school year was amazing. That year I grew closer to my Heavenly Father way
more than ever before.
Why worry about nightmares, they are just nightmares!
Rob Chaffart
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