USE YOUR HEART
 

I’m Sammie. My story begins when I was a young boy in the seventh grade.

I was never a good student. I have ADHD, and back then, I couldn’t sit for long. I had problems concentrating. I couldn’t focus. But I had an understanding teacher who recognized my weakness and helped me find my strengths.

Mrs. Styles put me in the front row and let me fidget with my toys and doodle in class. Whenever my teacher saw me getting bored, she would give me an assignment, like getting chalk for the blackboard or delivering a note to the Principal’s office. And she would even send me to the teacher’s lounge to get her a cup of coffee. That was how it worked for the first semester of seventh grade. I was happy, and I loved my teacher.

Midway through the school year, when the second semester rolled around, the Principal came to our class.

“Unfortunately, Mrs. Styles is ill and on an extended medical leave.”

Mr. Gumbiner was introduced to the class. I immediately saw a sternness in his manner. He was strict, unforgiving, and extremely set in his ways.

My was was not his way. I knew I was in for a long second semester.

Sure enough, I became my teacher’s scapegoat. I was scolded and spoken to harshly. He would crumple up my papers and throw them in the garbage. I was frequently punished and sent to the Principal’s office, not as a helper, but as a boy in trouble.

I went from being a happy student to a miserable one.

One day the teacher called a meeting with my parents, the Principal, and the school social worker.

In front of all those people, Mr. Gumbiner announced that I was a disruption to the class, I didn’t pay attention to my studies, and with a final broad statement, my teacher told me, my parents and the staff,  “If Sammie keeps this up he will amount to nothing in life.”

His words were a dagger to my heart. I was ashamed and discouraged. I really tried to be better, but the second half of seventh grade was torture, and I never forgot his words.

“A nothing.” It stuck to me like glue.

I never was a good student, but I got by. I went on with my life, doing the best I could.

I grew up, I learned a trade, I got married, and we started a family.

I have a good life. I’m a plumber, and I’m good at it. I have a wonderful wife and three loving children. Not too bad for someone destined to be ” a nothing.”

I took a community college course and got my Emergency Medical Response certification. I volunteer with the local fire department.

Recently, I got a call at three o’clock in the morning. I jumped out of bed, jumped in my car, and put on the siren. I was headed to a location near my neighborhood to attend to an older man with chest pains.

As soon as I got to the house, the wife ushered me into the bedroom. The man was lying on the floor, and I immediately started ministering to him. He had no discernable pulse. I used my equipment to shock him back into rhythm, and sure enough, his pulse came back a few minutes before the ambulance arrived.

I saved a man’s life that night. That man was a twenty-some years older Mr. Gumbiner.

About a month later, I got a call from Adam Gumbiner, the son of my former teacher and tormentor.

“We’re having a get-together of family and friends to celebrate our dear father’s miraculous escape from death and full recovery. Since you were the volunteer first on the scene who saved his life, we’d like you to be the guest of honor. My father would like to thank you personally.”

I wondered if my teacher would recognize me. I was a twelve-year-old kid. I’m now a man in my thirties.

I went to the party, walked up to Mr. Gumbiner, and shook his hand. He greeted me warmly and was effusive in his thanks. But he had no recollection of our past connection. Twenty minutes later, the daughter-in-law found me by the hor d’oeuvres table.

“Dad would like to talk to you.”

I approached the table where Mr. Gumbiner was sitting, and he motioned to an empty seat at his right. I sat down.

“Young man,” he began, “you look familiar to me, but I can’t place where or how I would know you.”

I told him my name and the name of the school I went to in seventh grade.

“You are Sammie Ray?” I began to see the tears well up in his eyes. I shook my head yes.

Mr. Gumbiner took my hands and didn’t let go. He began to cry.

“I was a new teacher at that time. It was a career that didn’t stick with me. I realized I lacked compassion and the patience to be good at my job. I left the profession with the memory of how I treated you seared in my brain. I never forgot the way I treated you. The things I said to you continued to haunt me all these years. I am so sorry.”

Mr. Gumbiner called for quiet and asked for everyone’s attention. He began to tell the whole story from twenty years before. How he hurt me and underestimated me.

“I want to apologize publicly to Sammie. Years ago, I told him if he didn’t start to use his head, he would become a nothing. But I didn’t consider how he could use his big heart and able hands to do something more important. Sammie used his God-given strengths, abilities, and talents to save my life and the lives of others. He found his purpose, embraced his mission, and is fulfilling his role in this world.”

Mr. Gumbiner asked my forgiveness, and I gave it gladly. It’s not often you stumble upon a momentous coincidence that can heal not one soul but two. Even the aggressors have the right to forgiveness. I believe God was in the classroom all those years ago, teaching Mr. Gumbiner and me a life lesson neither one of us will ever forget.

By Susan Diamond
Based on a true story.
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