I started dating Rick when I was 15 years old. He was living with his grandma and grandpa because of a really rough family life, and he hadn't been to church for years. After a few months of dating, he started coming back to church with me. In Utah, a lot of times when the bishop's daughter shows up with a wild and crazy boy, a boy who doesn't fit into the perfect little box, the whole ward starts talking. And most of my ward did. The problem is, most of the time all these crazy kids need is love and acceptance...just like everyone else...and most of the time they don't get that.
Thank goodness for an amazing Sunday School teacher.
Jackie Marsh was a sweet little gray haired woman who had love bubbling out of her. She welcomed Rick with open arms, never putting him on the spot, never asking him uncomfortable questions, never trying to "fix" him. she just loved him, and accepted him, and he knew it. She missed him when he was gone, and told him that when he came back. She never labeled him, she never judged him. she saw his potential and he felt that. Jackie Marsh is one of the main reasons my husband's heart softened. She was real when Rick needed real.
I don't think I will ever really know how much Jackie Marsh impacted my life. I have been madly in love with Rick since I first laid eyes on him, and I'm fairly certain that even if he didn't believe the same way I did, we would have still gotten married. I wonder how different my life would be...how different would my kid's lives be?
I am so thankful for sweet Sister Marsh. I am so thankful for her Christlike love. I know that she was my teacher, at that time in my life, for a very specific reason. I never took the chance to tell her how big of an impact she had on my life...but when I die, she will be one of the first people I find so I can give her a squeeze and thank her.
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