Choosing the Lesser, Getting the Better Plus The Horrible Shoebox Disaster, the Ten Cent Coke, and the Good Shepherd

Choosing the Lesser, Getting the Better: I recently remembered something that happened in 4th or 5th grade. We were putting on a class play and were asked to choose which part we wanted to play. The teacher had us write out the name of our choice and then she would assign us. I knew I didn't want the lead role and figured all the popular kids would get it. I was right. But it seems that all the girls wanted the lead part and chose that. I was the only one who chose the second important role. When the teacher told the class about it, she pointed out that "Dorothy was the only one to choose the lesser role, and therefore got it." The other girls were all disappointed that they didn't get it, except for the one who did, whose name was Wray. I was glad she got it. I was a little intimidated that I got the role of "Pinky" the girl who helped the lead actress in the play, and a little afraid. I didn't like talking in front of people. It now reminds me of what Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." I wasn't yet Jesus' disciple, but He was teaching me what it meant to let others have the star role and I take the lesser role.

The Horrible Shoebox Incident: There’s another event that impacted me in my last year of elementary school.  My sixth grade teacher was pretty harsh to everyone and had a shrill voice. I won’t tell you her name. But because my mom worked all day, I came to school early and stayed late. I offered to help my teacher however I could. One day she gave me a shoe box full of jars with different colored stones in them. She told me to clean them all out. I set to work and carefully emptied the stones from each jar in a different pile. I was just going to wash the jars when I heard my teacher yelling my name.

 Art work by Ethan Lin

When she saw what I had done she started yelling at me. She thought I had deliberately disobeyed her. As she had given me no further instructions on how exactly I was to clean it out, I assumed she meant to clean jars and the box. But she only wanted the box cleaned and jars put back in. I didn't even know the box was dirty! I had really wanted to help her, but ended up being more afraid of her than ever. We were both crying. I know now I made a wrong assumption and should have asked for more specific directions. It’s not the last time this kind of thing happened, as you will learn.

However, one good thing from these years, perhaps from her class, is I decided to start writing books. My first book was "All About the Planets." There was one page for each planet along with the sun. There was one picture for each, showing how far each one was from the sun. It was simple and stapled together. Wish I kept it!

Apparently I had this ability to not think through my actions early on. We had occasionally begun going to a Methodist Church. Nancy and I attended Junior Church when Mother went to big Church. I remember one Sunday when I was about 11 or 12. A friend and I snuck out of the building and went to the corner drugstore to get a ten cent coke. We sat and talked and then walked back before church was over. I felt so guilty afterwards, I told my mother…..and never did that again.  
   

      I also remember being impacted by a story at Junior Church. It was a story Jesus told about a shepherd looking for a lamb who got lost. I don’t remember how the story was told, only that I felt God’s Presence draw near again and remind me He loved me even when I messed up or did things wrong. I felt like I was that lost lamb and He reassured me He would always find me whenever I got lost.