Mutts and Misfits

Mutts and Misfits dan skognes motivation blogger speaker teacher trainer coach educatorI seem to be drawn to them both. I have two dogs that were abused at one point in their lives to prove it. There is something that both have in common. They are not hopeless…they just need to find it again. Show a dog love and compassion on a consistent basis and you will have a friend for life. The same goes for a child. Every living thing needs hope!

There is a child that was given an assignment to write something about his life. He could write a short story about something that he experienced…good or bad. He sat there and sat there and sat there…just staring off into space. When I asked him what he was going to write about, he said, “I can’t think of anything that would be appropriate to share in school.” My heart went out to him as I looked into his eyes. I could see that he needed to find hope. They were filled with sadness. In his world, nothing was going well.

The tragic part of that story is that this is commonplace. There are kids everywhere who have been written off as hopeless by their parents, by schools, and by society. They are not hopeless. Nobody is beyond redemption. They just need to find a reason to hope…and we can be the ones to give it to them.

I recall a story of an auction that had some very expensive things for sale. The last item that came up for auction was an old violin. It was beat up, had a missing string, and was out of tune. Nobody wanted to start the bid for the violin…not even for a dollar. An old man got up from the crowd and went to the stage and picked up the violin and bow. He took a moment to tune it; then played the most beautiful song. The people in the auction sat there spellbound as that seemingly worthless instrument came to life. You see, it always had worth. It just needed the touch of the Master’s hand.

You may be the Master in some child’s life today. You may have the chance to instill hope and bring them to life again. You may be the one to give them a reason to live. Don’t miss that opportunity. Every child is worthy of love. I pray that you and I give it freely and generously to all that cross our path each day.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

 

3 Responses to “Mutts and Misfits”

  1. Cliff Loriot says:

    Thank you, Dan, for sharing this.

    I particularly like your statement: “Nobody is beyond redemption.”

    I’ve heard and read the story about the old violin, and like so many others, I am one of those violins.

    Thanks again.

  2. Phil Gaffney says:

    Hi Dan I have just read this article. Great words and something that we always need to remind ourselves about. Thanks. Phil