Looking For The Light

On an average day at Whitewater High School, the grumpiest teacher in existence sat down at his desk. He was grading papers before a student randomly stopped and came up to him. 

“Well, Sir, if you hate your job so much, why don’t you leave?” The student, Melvin, said, a questioning look on his face. Mr. Greensly looked at Melvin and forced a passive-aggressive smile. Melvin got the message, quickly scurrying back to his seat as the teacher sat. He sighed to himself, taking a sip of his lukewarm green tea before addressing the class.

“Alright, brats. We would’ve gone outside today, but due to incidents around the school, we’re stuck inside.” The entire class groaned as Greensly continued.

“Furthermore, we’re supposed to have a standardized test today, but I want to try something. William and Derrick, can you push the desks to the sides of the classroom?”

The classroom was configured with 4 rectangular tables, with four chairs per seat, and they were now spread out along the walls of the room. Mr. Greensly chuckled as the students stood there, confused as to why they were now standing. He sat down his tea, stood up, and walked into the middle of the room.

“Now, I want to get to know some of my students better–so!” He spoke, clapping his hands together, “Let’s talk!” He grabbed a globe off of a desk. 

“When you get the globe, I want you to say a sentence related to what the previous person said about you. Like this–I’m passing the globe to a random student.” He tossed the globe to Melvin.

“That’s probably because I’m the only student in the class who had a perfect test score,” Melvin said. 

“Yeah, you got a 100, and I got a 109. You’re not better than anyone,” A boy said, running his fingers through his long, red, hair.

“Here–I’m passing the globe to an idiot,” Melvin said, chuckling at Karl. Harrison caught the globe and handed it to Karl, (the boy with red hair). 

“Hey! Guys! Be nice!” Greensly spoke. He took the globe from Karl and gave it to someone else to start again.

“I’m passing the globe to a heartbreaking freak,” Chad said, cloyingly handing it to Brianna. His grip on the globe, (which was really just a world map taped onto a dodgeball) was unforgiving. It appeared to the rest of the class that Brianna had broken his heart in a way he couldn’t forget.

“Chad– Guys this activity is supposed to help you see the darkness in each other, so you can give them the light they need!” The class went silent before the chaos started again.

“No!”

“Nah, fam, I wouldn’t let that slide,” Harrison said, standing up. Brianna chuckled as she nervously pulled her jacket down.

“He’s mad because I broke up with him. Ignore that, guys,” Brianna said. The entire class suspensefully “oohed” as the teacher smacked his forehead. 

“I’m passing the globe to my bestie,” Brianna said, tossing the globe back to Karl. The teacher sighed, relieved to finally hear something nice. That relief didn’t last long, however.

“I’m passing the globe to the jerk in here that ruined my life!” Karl exclaimed, throwing it to Kevin. The class gasped, as some students even shuffled away from him.

“Well–I–I didn’t mean to kick the ladder from beneath you,” Kevin spoke, trying to explain himself. The class made a “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” sound as Mr. Greensly sighed. 

“Shut up. You know what you did, and you still haven’t properly apologized, so, I don’t wanna hear it.”

The teacher rubbed his temples as the students argued back and forth.

“Enough!” He finally exclaimed. He took the globe back, sitting it in the middle of the room. “Listen,” Mr. Greensly said. He spun the globe around to the United States. 

“Each dot on here– it represents someone who is going through something,” The teacher said, tossing the globe to Chad.

“Uh, there's no dots on it!” Chad exclaimed. Melvin then snatched the globe from Chad.

“You imbecile! The whole map is made…of…dots,” Melvin said, realizing Greensly’s point.

“Exactly, everyone here–they are going through something,” Mr. Greensly spoke.

 “Would anyone like to share what they’re going through?” He asked, standing up to shut the door. “What happens in my class–” He looked around, giving everyone a stern look. 

“Stays in my class.” Chad took the globe.

“I bully people…because it’s the only thing I have,” He said, pushing the globe back out in embarrassment. The class nodded, a solemn atmosphere settling in.

“Look for some light, Chad. There are more ways to find happiness than bullying.” Chad covered his face, as he pulled the sleeves of his varsity jacket up. Mr. Greensly lightly tossed the globe to Karl. Karl grabbed his necklace, a golden crucifix, and put it on.

“Through everything, my parents have always hated me, there has never really been a safe place for me to go, and– it’s just hard to keep my faith,” Karl spoke, this time, kindly handing the globe to Kevin. Kevin almost teared up as he saw the sad smile on Karl’s face.

“I’m truly sorry, Karl, I think about that every day, and I haven’t been able to say this because I’ve been constantly fighting a war with myself. I can’t have peace.” Karl sighed in relief. Everyone shared their stories, and the once judgemental class was replaced with a council willing to share each other’s stories and help each other find their light. Eventually, the bell rang. Most of the class stayed back to continue sharing, but once everyone did leave, Mr. Greensly noticed something. It was silent outside, serene. The teacher didn’t hate his job, he loved it–knowing that he could make a genuine difference. He looked at his chalkboard, before taking a piece of chalk and scribbling something on the board. He finished, sitting down the chalk and walking outside of the room, leaving for the teacher’s lounge.

1 Corinthians 13: 1-7,

All we need is love.