This is a good story that ministered to my heart to always be kind and
compassionate towards others because the results are sure to leave a 
positive impact. I hope this story ministers to your heart as well to
take special interest in that one whom God lays on your heart so that your
impact can be felt for a long time to come.


THE BOY I COULD NEVER FORGET

After 20 years as a full-time wife and mother, I decided now that my kids
were grown, I needed a part-time job to keep me busy. I decided to drive a
school bus...

Charlie began riding my bus in September of my fourth year driving. Eight
years old, with blond hair and crystalline gray eyes, he got on with a 
group of children. They all had stories to tell me about their summers. 
Charlie, though, ignored me. He didn't even answer when I asked his name.

From that day on, Charlie was a trial. If a fight broke out I didn't have
to turn my head to know who had started it. If someone was throwing 
spitballs I could guess the culprit's name. If a girl was crying, chances
were Charlie had pulled her hair. No matter how I spoke to him, gently or
firmly, he wouldn't say a word. He'd just stare at me with those big gray
eyes of his.

I asked around some, and found out Charlie's father was dead and he didn't
live with his mother. He deserves my patience, I thought. So I practiced
every bit of patience I could muster. To my cheery "Good morning," he was
silent. When I wished him a happy Halloween, he sneered. Many, many times
I asked God how I could reach Charlie. "I'm at my wit's end," I'd say. 
Still I was sure that this child needed to feel some warmth from me. So, 
when he'd pass by, I'd ruffle his hair or pat him on the arm.

Toward the end of that year, the kids on my bus gave me a small trophy 
inscribed 'To the Best Bus Driver Ever.' I propped it up on the dashboard.
On top I hung a small tin heart that a little girl had given me. In red 
paint she had written, "I love Polly and Polly loves me."

On the next-to-last day of school I was delayed a few minutes talking to 
the principal. When I got on the bus I realized that the tin heart was 
gone. "Does anyone know what happened to the little heart that was up 
here?" I asked. For once with 39 children, there was silence.

One boy piped up, "Charlie was the first one on the bus. I bet he took it."

Other children joined the chorus, "Yeah! Charlie did it! Search him!"

I asked Charlie, "Have you seen the heart?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he protested. Standing up, he 
took a few pennies and a small ball out of his pockets. "See, I don't have it."

"I bet he does!" insisted the girl who had given me the heart. "Check his
pockets."

Charlie glowered when I asked him to come forward. His gaze burned into 
mine. I stuck my hand into one pocket. Nothing. I reached into the other 
pocket. Then I felt it - the familiar outline of the small tin heart. 
Charlie stared at me for a long time. There were no tears in those big gray
eyes, no plea for mercy. He seemed to be waiting for what he'd come to
expect from the world. I was about to pull the tin heart out of Charlie's
pocket when I stopped myself. Let him keep it, a voice seemed to whisper.

"It must have fallen off before I got here," I said to the kids. "I'll 
probably find it back at the bus depot." Without a word, Charlie returned
to his seat. When he got off at his stop, he didn't so much as glance at me.

That summer Charlie moved away...

Eventually I retired. And there my story as a school bus driver ends, 
except for one more incident.

A dozen years after retirement I was in a department store In Kansas City,
when someone said tentatively, "Polly?"

I turned to see a balding man who was approaching middle age. "Yes?"

His face didn't look familiar until I noticed his big gray eyes. There was
no doubt. It was Charlie.

He told me he was living in Montana and doing well. Then, to my surprise,
he hugged me. After he let go, he pulled something from his pocket and 
held it up for me to see. An old key chain...bent out of shape, the 
lettering faded. You can probably guess what it was - the little tin heart
that said, "I love Polly and Polly loves me."

"You were the only one who kept trying," he explained. We hugged again, 
and went our separate ways. That night I thought over his words. 'You were
the only one who kept trying.' Before I fell asleep, I thanked the Lord for
the reassurance that I'd done a good job and for all the qualifications 
He'd given me to do it with.

By Pauline Burgard


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

Luke 6:27-31 "…I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those
who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. 
And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 
Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods 
do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do
to them likewise."

Matthew 25:37-41 Jesus declares, "Then the righteous will answer Him, 
saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give
You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and
clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch
as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"

Luke 6:35-36 Jesus declares, "…love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping
for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons 
of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be
merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

All of these scriptures can be found in the New King James Version Bible.


Today's Selected Poem: THE MAGIC LOVE
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem64.htm

Today's Selected Testimony: THE SPARROW
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony56.htm


In Christ's Service, 

Dwayne Savaya 
Gods Work Ministry