on the toss of a coin

Educationally I was not the best. My parents always used to say that I could have done far more than I did and my school reports bear out the fact that I was an under achiever. The problem was that when I went up to Grammar School I didn’t like it but because I was a late developer, small in stature and easily bullied. I never told anyone and bore the pain of it all by escaping into myself which was the only safe place I knew.

How about this from my school report: ‘The energetic approach called for last term has not been forthcoming. He can do better than some of the results listed suggest’. Or, Chemistry 22/100 - has slackened off; or French 15/100 a very poor result.        

But help was coming in the form of Mr Desmond Hallas without whom I would never be where I am today. Mr Hallas was my Geography teacher and the only member of staff I respected as I discovered that the rest and one or two in particular were not there for you but downright lied to you. (Mr Hallas, if you are reading this, I am eternally grateful to you for all you did for me at Lowestoft County Grammar School.) In fact when I qualified as a teacher and had given my life to Christ and was off to South Korea with ‘Youth With a Mission’ I went and tracked him down. He was a lecturer at Chalfont St Giles Teacher Training College and I personally thanked him. He had been my Geography teacher in my first two years and I worked hard. In my third year I had a different master who gave me ‘C’ with the comment – too easily satisfied. I decided to do Geography GCE (proper exams) and into the class strode Mr Hallas. The decision of which master would teach us had come down to the toss of a coin! For me it meant my C became A- and an exam result of 86%. What a difference!

For David his moment came when his dad, Jesse, sent him up to the front with sandwiches for his older brothers who were trembling under their own trial in the shape of a Philistine giant called Goliath. It was to change his life. Whereas for everyone else the giant provoked fear, for David, trusting in God, it provided a target he just couldn’t miss.

When the challenges come we can take them and allow them to shape our futures. Whether they are good or bad they can either drive us into ourselves and our own resources or into the arms of God. David went towards God. I went into myself but through Jesus, God saved me. He will do it for you. Thank you Jesus!!