When You Touch A Life: The Teddy Stoddard Story

Her name was Mrs. Thompson. As she stood in front of her 5th  grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a   lie.

Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that  she loved them all the same.

 But that was impossible, because there in the front row,   slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.  

 Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed  
that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were  
 messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant.

 It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and  then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers. At the school  where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past  records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his  file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child  with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent  student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his  mother  has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." 

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death had been hard on him.  He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much  interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't  taken." 

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school.  He doesn't have many friends and he  sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was  ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas  presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for  Teddy's.  His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that  he got from a grocery bag.

 Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other  presents.   Some of the children started to laugh when she found a  rhinestone bracelet  with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was  one  quarter-full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she  exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of   the perfume on her wrist.

 Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough   to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mother used to." After the children left she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and   arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson   paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his   mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he   responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the   smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would   love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

 A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole   life.

 Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she  was  still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that  while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with  it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors.

 He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite  teacher he ever had in his whole life.

 Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time   he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best  and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer-the   letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

 The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be   married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and   he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at   the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

 Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that   bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she   was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last   Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me.

 Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a  difference."   Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back.

She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong.  You were the one who taught me that I   could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

 Warm someone's heart today. pass this along.  

 Please remember that wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will  have the  opportunity to touch and/or change a person's outlook   please try to do it in a
 positive way.  

(I acquired the above via forwarded email in December 2000)

Three Wise WoMen Joke

Three Wise Women would have
Asked directions
Arrived on time
Helped deliver the baby
Cleaned the stable
Made a casserole
Brought practical gifts and
There would be Peace on Earth.

Fill your home with Symbols of Christmas,  of man's thoughts turning toward heaven:

The Legend of the Poinsettia

Mexican    legend tells of a boy who  on Christmas Eve had no gift to put by the figure of Baby Jesus in his church.  He heard an angel tell him to pick some dried weeds for his gift to Baby Jesus.  When  the little boy laid the weeds beside the other gifts, the weeds turned into beautiful flowers.

Dr. Joel Poinsett, the first United States Ambassador to Mexico,  brought the poinsettia to the United States where it was named the "poinsettia."

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The Legend of the Poinsettia

In Mexican legend, a poor girl named Pepita wanted to take a gift to the Christ Child. Her cousin, Pedro, assured her that he would accept even the humblest gift given in love. so Pepita fashioned weeds into a bouquet.

As Pepita placed them at the altar, God transformed the weeds. They suddenly became a bouquet of beautiful, flaming-red flowers shaped like the Christmas star!

Even more miraculously, God sill today transforms hearts through His gift of the savior. Moved by the love and forgiveness Christ gives, His people overflow in generosity - at Christmastime and throughout the year.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" Matthew 6:21.

Santa Came!!!!!!!:
Christmas in the 50's with my brother.

Story:  The Tablecloth  (True Story)

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc. and on Dec, 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On Dec, 19th a terrible tempest -a driving rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in.

One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored,crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older woman
running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was white like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor
explained.

The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria. The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. She was captured sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety, and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid, who says Gods work in mysterious ways. I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today. To guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you, His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He will see us through.
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best, just remember I'm here praying, and God will do the rest.

Sending a early "Valentine" to see if it will make it around the world by Feb. 14th.

      "For God so loVed the world,
             That He gAve 
                   His onLy
                   BegottEn
                         SoN 
                             That whosever 
              Believeth In Him 
                    Shall Not perish,
              But have Everlasting life."
                                          John 3:16

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Story:  The Drunken Driver  Christmas Story (a moving story I received via email 11/30/05)

Drunk Driver


On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to go to the supermarket
to buy the remaining of the gift I didn't manage to buy earlier.
When I saw all the people there, I started to complain to myself, "It
is going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to
go. Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year. How I
wish I could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it."

Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section, and there I started to curse
the prices, wondering if after all kids really play with such expensive toys.

While looking in the toy section, I noticed a small boy of about 5
years old, pressing a doll against his chest.
He kept on touching the hair of the doll and looked so sad. I wondered
who was this doll for. Then the little boy turned to the old  woman
next to him, "Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?"

The old lady replied, "You know that you don't have enough money to
buy this doll, my dear."
Then she asked him to stay here for 5 minutes while she went to look
 around. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.
Finally, I started to walk toward him and I asked him who did he want
to give this doll to.
"It is the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this
Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her."
I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus will bring it to her, after
 all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can not bring it to her
where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mother so that she can give
it to  her when she goes there." His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My
sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mummy will also go to
see God very soon, so I thought that she could bring the doll with her to
give it to my sister."

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said, "I
told daddy to tell mummy not to go yet. I asked him to wait until I come
back from the supermarket."

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He
then told me, "I also want mummy to take this photo with her so that she
will not forget me." I love my mummy and I wish she doesn't have to leave
me  but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister."
Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and took a few notes and said to the
boy, "What if we checked again, just in case if you have enough money?"

"Ok," he said. "I hope that I have enough."
I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started! to
count it. There was enough for the doll, and even some spare money. The
little boy said, "Thank you God for giving me enough money."

Then he looked at me and added, "I asked yesterday before I slept for
God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so that mummy can
give it to my sister. He heard me."

"I also wanted to have enough money to
buy a white rose for my mummy, but I didn't dare to ask God too much. But
He gave me enough to buy the doll and the white rose."

 "You know, my mummy loves white roses."
A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my trolley.
I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I
started. Icouldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which
mentioned of a drunk man in a truck who hit a car where there was one
young lady and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the
mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull
the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be
able to get out of the coma.
Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the
newspaper that the young lady had passed away.
I couldn't stop myself and went to buy a bunch of white roses and I
went to the mortuary where the body of the young woman was exposed for people
to see and make last wish before burial.
She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her
hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.
 

I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed
forever.The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still,
to that day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk man
had taken all this away from him.

>>Now you have 2 choices:
>>1) Send this message to everybody that you know; or 2) Delete it and
do as if it never touched your heart.
If you send this message, maybe you will help prevent someone drunk
to go driving