Core Scripture: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

Message: As the 2025-2026 school year launches, there are plethora of dynamics you will see amongst students.  Some are well-behaved.  Some are chatty.  Some are into Pokemon.  Some pick their noses and eat their boogers.  Some live for sports.  Some live for theater.  Some are outcasts.  Some are troubled.  Some just can’t get it right.

Have you ever heard the story of Clint Pulver?  Watch the three-minute video at the bottom and you will discover it.  In a nutshell, Clint was that problem child in school, the ADHD kid that couldn’t sit still.  So many teachers had written him off and disciplined him for relentlessly tapping his pencil.  All except for one teacher.

When Mr. Jensen asked Clint—awesome name by the way!—to stay after class, he thought he was in trouble.  Instead, Mr. Jensen pulled out a pair of drumsticks from his desk and asked if Clint had ever considered drumming.  The rest is history.  Clint went on to earn a college scholarship as a drummer and now speaks to students worldwide, sharing his inspiring story. 

I had a student like that in my last full year of teaching.  He caught my eye from day one.  There all my 6^th grade students were, sitting in the gymnasium bleachers, talking and scoping out the situation of the new year.  This one kid was dressed in a … suit and tie?  His hair was combed to the side, and his freckled face wore a mischievous smile that made me do a double take. 

What was up with this kid?  Was he trying to be different?  What type of home did he come from?  Was he intellectual?  Did he have friends?  I found out quickly what type of person he was.  Everything about him craved attention.  The spotlight had to be on him, and once it got there, he performed.  The trouble was that his performances many times took the class away from learning, distracting them. 

Everyone loves the class clown, and his antics brought much laughter to his classmates, but I knew I had to keep the class on track.  I lovingly tried to reach out to him, letting him know that there was a time and place for comedy, but it wasn’t every waking second.  I quickly found out he was smart.  Bright as can be!  He read at a level that put the other kids to shame, and he had a passion for history.

Guess what?  So, did I.

I ran with that.  I began asking him to have lunch with me every so often so we could connect over our mutual love for World War II.  I told him stories of my grandfather who was on a mine sweeper in Okinawa, and he in turn shared stories of his grandpa.  I told him about my great grandfather who was a foot soldier in World War I and even tailored a lesson around the box he gave me when I was 10 years old. 

Bringing that box into class for a lesson about inferencing was so intriguing to him.  He stared at the items in there as if they were priceless relics, and he had lunch with me that day to continue looking at the box.  But as we built this connection, his antics in my class never really changed.  He loved to blurt out, disrupt class, and stir the pot to derail the class from learning. 

I never fully understood this poor kid.  It seemed like the more effort I put into mentoring him, the more he pushed back in the classroom.  It just didn’t make sense to me.  With every act of defiance, I did my best to show him tough love in a way that set boundaries but still showed him I cared.  Some days were better than others, but the kid had built this reputation with his classmates that he probably felt obligated to live out.  And man, did he live it out!  I will spare you the details, but let’s just say it was a rough year.

I tried different tactics all the time.  I put him in the hallway.  I gave detentions.  I continued having lunch with him.  I complimented him on his reading ability.  I even gave him the King of the Week award tried calling his grandmother.  Grandma didn’t answer.  He told me to call her back, but that would have taken too much time.  I told him I would call again after school, but that wasn’t good enough for him.  By the end of the day when he revisited my class for Trojan Time, he rebelled tremendously, and I was left wondering why.

I began to see the kid I was teaching.  The more I learned about him, the more his antics made sense.  He lacked a male influence at home.  Everything about him wanted the spotlight.  He relished attention!  At that moment, this was probably February of 2024 now, well into the school year, we were reading a novel about a character who was gifted at woodworking.  It led me to ask the kids what they were gifted at. 

Of course, the kids just sat there, saying nothing, waiting for someone to be bold enough to answer.  Crickets.  I decided I would model an example, and it came through a bold statement I made about the least likely individual the class would suspect.  You guessed it.  I pointed to my guy. 

“Take (insert kid’s name) for example … We know he likes attention.  What if I told you that it would not surprise me if he became deeply involved in theater as a high schooler and went on to attend college on a theater scholarship, using that experience to launch himself into a career as a movie star!”

His eyes began to shine.  A bright smile had no choice but to appear on his face, and as the rest of the class laughed at my prediction, I went on.

“Now hold on!  You guys don’t see what I see!  He loves attention.  He loves comedy.  Sure, he may give me a few headaches now and again, but I tell you this young man is priming himself to become the next great Paul Newman!”

Alright, so Paul Newman might not have been the best example for these kids who didn’t know the actor, but they got my point.  A few kids were taking my side now, nodding their heads in agreement.  I had made a decent enough point and backed it up with evidence.  I finished with a flourish.

“I just have one question to ask you … When you become a famous actor and make it big, will you remember me with your money?”

I don’t even remember the reaction or what he said, but one thing was for certain: a seed was planted.  An acting seed.  I wondered long how that seed was doing, whether or not it was growing.  The school year ended, I left for a different teaching job, and we never reconnected.  I thought about him often, wondering how he was doing.  The football coach told me he was maturing, but I was skeptical.  I wondered if it was really happening.

Until I got an email from the kid last week.

My alarm had just jolted me awake at midnight for my shift at Amazon.  I stumbled downstairs, made my coffee, and planted myself in my comfy chair for a little quiet time with the Lord.  I got my phone out to open the Bible app, but I noticed there was an email waiting to be seen.  An email from my old student.  I just had to open it. 

I smiled as I read through his lengthy heartfelt paragraph.  It was humility at its finest.  He apologized for all his antics and asked for my forgiveness.  He likewise said he started going to church every weekend and found a personal relationship with the Lord.  Tears brimmed in my eyes as I realized the prayers I said for him two years ago were finally coming true.  Seeds were planted.  It just took time for them to sprout. 

The lessons learned from this entire experience were powerful.  Sow seeds broadly.  Be patient.  They may not show results while you have that child in your classroom.  It may take a while for the lessons to sink in.  Keep on praying.  Always show love.  It can come in the form of loving discipline, but if you ever have to choose between a harsh rebuke and love, lean on love.  You can never go wrong with a small act of kindness. 

I write every kid a note at the end of the school year.  I do not have a copy of the note I wrote this young man, but I am fairly certain that I told him how memorable he was to me and how much I would miss him.  I likewise complimented his intelligence and told him to pursue theater in high school.  He still has a year yet to get there, but I wonder if that seed I planted is beginning to see its fruit. 

We all have things we wish would happen quickly.  We say prayers like God, please fix my marriage or God, help me find a career that glorifies You.  Sometimes we forget that God’s timetable is not always the same as our own.  He grows us through trials.  There is no doubt He hears our prayers, but to wave a magic wand and fix every problem overnight?  Man, that just doesn’t sound good at all. 

So, what does God do?  He allows trials to grow us closer to Him.  Because they produce endurance.  Character.  Perseverance.  He smiles at us when we remember those times in our lives that turned out a bit different than expected.  God always knows what is best.  Especially when past students change for the better and ask for forgiveness. 

I emailed him back almost immediately, asking his permission to write about him.  He gave me that permission and even told me I could use his name.  I opted to leave it quiet for now.  His name is not what is important.  What matters most is that he learned a valuable lesson, and even better, I got to share his story.  I never would have thought I would be writing the story this way, but it finally happened.  He opened his heart to the Lord.

Do me a favor.  As you look at your problems and get frustrated with God’s silence, know that it is not because He doesn’t hear you.  He just works differently than we do.  His timetable is unique and different.  He knows things we don’t know.  Afterall, he created us!  Who are we, the clay that he is molding daily, to tell Him what is best?  It reminds me of a child wanting ice cream for dinner.  Mom and dad don’t allow that because we know the sugar high would send your kid through the roof! 

God knows us.  He walks us through every trial, and much like the footprints story explains, He carries us when we don’t have the strength to move. 

Challenge: Try to see your problems from God’s perspective.  Think about how your current trial might be just what you need to strengthen your faith. 

Video application: Check out Clint Pulver’s inspiring video below.

Bible study: Journal about or discuss the following scripture …

• “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)
• “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
• “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)
• “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
• “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

Just for fun: When I was teaching that young man above, we had a storm one week that knocked out the power in half of the town he lived in.  High winds, hail, heavy rain, you name it.  School was even cancelled for a couple days due to the power being out.  Upon his return, the boy, dressed in his Sunday best, was signing autographs for his classmates on the gym bleachers.  Why?  Because he claimed he ate the tornado, saving the town from utter destruction. 

Oh, the creative minds of middle schoolers!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the trials you give us.  We know they end up strengthening our faith in You.  Help us realize your timetable is sometimes not the same as the one we have in mind.  Amen.