I this happened to you as a child, what direction would your life have taken? I shudder to think had it happened to me. Certainly, my spirit would have been crushed, paralyzing me with self-doubt and a debilitating sense of low self-esteem. Yet somehow this child persevered. Despite the humiliation, shame and malicious abuse he endured…resilience carried him forward.
“There were 11 children in my family,” he shared. “Incredibly poor Ugandan family. Hardly enough for food, let alone clothing. So, Hudson wore hand-me down trousers. Bottom of the sibling queue. By the time they found his legs, his mother had patched them repeatedly. “I’d get up early and go to school before all the other kids and hide in the back row,” he confessed. “Otherwise, kids would laugh and make fun of my patched trousers. We all know that children can be merciless, regardless of country and socioeconomic status—a fascinating commentary on human nature. But we’ve also witnessed their ingenuity when developing coping and survival techniques. Hudson figure a way to beat the system, escaping peer humiliation…until his teacher caught on a decided to exploit his situation. “He’d purposefully call me to the front of the classroom to clean the blackboards,” recalled Hudson, with a slight wince. “As I walked the middle aisle, my classmates erupted with laughter.” Now why an adult would do such a thing—especially a teacher—is beyond comprehension. But history is replete with examples of adults exploiting authority at the cost and expense of a child’s well-being. Hudson felt himself sinking. The daily ritual of humiliation, crushing his soul. Only an insistent, illiterate mother—who understood education was his only ticket out of poverty—stood in the way of dropping out.
“One day another teacher noticed me downcast and sitting alone in the school yard,” he recalled. “What’s the matter?” she inquired. “Everything okay? Something you need?” After a little prodding, Hudson opened his aching heart. A new pair of trousers. All he needed. Surprisingly, the next day a brown paper bag landed in his lap. Inside, a pair of trousers—no patches. “That one act of kindness really changed the course of my life,” he reflected. “Out of all the students, she noticed me. Went out of her way and acted with compassion.” That 12-year-old boy now studies with us for a Master’s degree in the United States. A miracle.
For those who live within the Christian tradition, we begin our Advent journey to the manger—a time of waiting, anticipating, yearning and allowing God’s of love to continue growing in our hearts. And these remaining days of Christmas offer us a rare pilgrimage of sorts, if we intentionally reclaim them for holy purposes. They are days pregnant with opportunity to interrupt daily routines, awaken our spiritual slumber and quell the frenetic madness this season can often bring. So, it intrigues me that the Magi—after sharing their gifts with the Christ child and his parents—are warned in a dream to “travel home another route.” A familiar road home will place them at the feet of King Herod with all his lucrative rewards…promotions, tenured professorships, political appointments or financial renumeration. The Magi’s valuable reconnaissance for their king will reap a handsome payoff. Returning home quickly seems like a logical course of action.
But then the mysterious voice of God calls for a different course of action. Not the obvious route. Not eh efficient route. Not the familiar route. God’s calling the Magi to take a detour—a different road where new lessons will be learned, new encounters made, and God’s unfolding plan will evolve.
I don’t know that route God is asking you to take his advent season. But I know opportunity awaits when we pause, reflect, look around and part from the familiar. Who knows what lessons we will learn and who we’ll meet? And maybe there’s a person whose life will be changed because of our small act of kindness.
Bruce Main
President & Founder
Urban Promise International
Pennsauken, NJ