A Paper Star

Image from google

Guys! My heart is filled with this beautiful picture of Christmas and I must absolutely share it with you!

I would like to tell you a story. A story I witnessed where the two main characters (13 year old boys whose names have been changed) reminded me of the true meaning of Christmas.

~~The Confession~

It all started with one heartbreaking confession.

Students mingled around cutting, crafting and chatting. Most students were talking about what they were going to do on their Christmas break while others intently focused on cutting and gluing. One boy, Philip, sat a few seats away from the rest of the students. It was difficult to get him to participate.

"I've never gotten one single Christmas present in my whole life," Philip mumbled under his breath as he wrote out a Christmas card to his pen pal.

Most students, including I, didn't hear this heartfelt confession, but Jared did.

Jared is quiet and soft spoken. It takes him a few moments to get his thoughts from the depths of his inner self and out into the spoken universe, but when you let enough time hang there, something thoughtful eventually transpires. He's the kind of kid who has little at home. Very little. I can't imagine it, really, but nonetheless, he always has something to give.

On most days he brings me an apple after lunch.

"Miss Blewett, I brought you an apple from my lunch." He would always quickly place the apple on my desk and pitter-patter away to his own. This happened more days than not. He is generous even in his need. He is heartfelt and sensitive even though his home life is rough and harsh.

It was, of course, Jared who heard the heartbreaking confession everyone else ignored.

Quietly, but not discretely because teenagers hardly do anything discretely, Jared started talking to a girl nearby. They kept saying Philip's name loud enough for me to hear. I quickly walked over and asked if they needed to talk with me out in the hall. I didn't want Philip to overhear them talking about him. Philip is unpredictable and anything puts him on edge. Jared slowly and compassionately nodded yes.

"You see, Miss Blewett, I overheard Philip saying he has never ever received a Christmas gift. That is heartbreaking, just heartbreaking." He said it as if his own heart was breaking at that exact moment. He slowly continued as he paced back and forth, "I was telling Caroline that we should get him a gift, but she said that Philip is rude to everyone and he doesn't deserve a gift." He paused with thought beaming from his eyes. I knew Caroline was right about the rude part. Philip struggles socially and he can sometimes be pretty rude. For a moment, I caught myself siding with Caroline. There was even a part of me that doubted Philip's confession, but I waited, knowing if I paused long enough, something very thoughtful would transpire.

"But just because you are rude, doesn't mean you shouldn't get a Christmas gift. Everyone deserves a Christmas gift," he declared confidently.

There it was. The thought, heart and meaning of Christmas spoken straight from the mouth of a 13 year old boy.

"Oh, Jared, there are many ways to give gifts," I said this knowing he couldn't afford to buy a gift. "You could write a letter or draw a picture. You are one special kiddo to think of this, Jared," I mumbled while trying to hide the tears welling up in my eyes. "Let's go back into class. While you are working, you can think of what you could give him."

~~The Gift~~

As Jared walked back into class, I was positive he would forget about his burst of compassion. Teenagers say a lot of funny and thoughtful things and then forget when the next exciting moment comes. Surely this was one of those moments. 

The next day I was busy teaching my first block class when Jared and another teacher came in. 

"Do you mind if we leave this in here? It's the gift Jared made for Philip," the teacher said softly. Jared stood with a smile on his face. 

It was a beautiful, giant paper crafted star that could hang like an ornament or from a ceiling. It had a hand written card stapled on one end of the star and a candy cane hanging from the other end. 

"Look, I put a card on one end and a candy cane on the other," Jared whispered as he pointed proudly. 

I looked up at the teacher and smiled. It was evident she had done most of the grunt work to get the star looking so beautiful. 

They quickly rushed out of the room and I stood there feeling proud and worried all at the same time. You see, teenage boys (and girls) can be mean. We know it's just a mask to hide all their awkward, junior high insecurities, but nonetheless, kind gestures can often be received with eye rolling, smirks, and snarky thank yous. It's not that they don't truly appreciate the gesture, it's just that they don't know how to stand in the vulnerability. I was worried about how Philip would accept this gift because, all teenage hormones aside, Philip is rude, but Jared is right. Even though someone is rude or mean, doesn't mean he/she don't deserve a gift. 

I decided to pull Philip aside in class and prep him; kind of socially coach him before the gift was given to him. 

"So Philip," I started hesitantly, unsure of how he would receive my coaching. "Jared said he heard you talking yesterday about how you've never gotten a Christmas gift." I paused hoping to receive something affirming from him.  He shook his head yes. "Well, Jared felt sad about this so he made you a gift. He will give it to you after class today. Remember, when we receive a gift, we smile and say thank you." It seemed like such common sense, but for most teenagers with broken homes, common sense wasn't so common. He smiled and walked back into class. 

~~The Reveal~~

The bell rang.

"Merry Christmas, everyone! Be safe and see you in the new year! I hollered as everyone ran out of the class. For a moment I forgot about the big reveal, but Philip quickly ran up to me and waited at my side.

"Do you have a question?" I asked. 

"No." Philip whispered. "I'm just waiting for the gift and I'm trying to act surprised."

"Oh, yes! Ok. Hey Jared, do you want to give your gift now?" I asked as I made sure the room had been cleared of all the other students. Jared smiled and ran behind my desk to grab his gift. As he lifted the paper star up, his shoulders rolled back and he stood a little taller. 

"Here Philip! I made this for you... I hope you like it...."

Philip's eyes grew big as he saw the beautiful paper star. He was truly surprised. It was written in the sparkle of his eyes. 

"Thanks, man. No one has ever done this for me." Philip reached over and gave Jared a big hug. Jared smiled.

"You're welcome!" And he pitter-pattered out of the room. 

Philip kept standing there looking at the giant star. He looked up at me and whispered, "I'm going to hang this in my room! This is awesome." I smiled at him as I held back the tears and thought to myself, now this is a perfect picture of the true meaning of Christmas.