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Topic: Bullies (08/09/04)
TITLE: Billy The Bully By Kevin Jarrell 08/10/04 |
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Billy, the bully of the school, came in yesterday looking as if he had fought in a street brawl. Seeing this, I said before thinking, looks like you picked on someone tougher than you this time. Big mistake. I saw the rage build quickly in his eyes as he turned towards me. I knew I was about to be the new crimson tiles for the hall floor. He glared at me as if he could kill me. Yet at that moment, I saw something in his eyes. I saw the tears of pain as they broke the horizon of his eyes and begin their journey down his swollen jaw.
After all the days of being taunted by him, it was hard to figure out why I felt so low at that moment. I felt my body relax a bit though as he turned and walked away from me. Those events played on my mind for the remainder of the day. I knew there was something seriously wrong with the situation.
I rise to ready myself for the day ahead. I begin with a prayer that God will guide me and protect me as I face the unknown. I then pray for Billy and whatever it is that brought on the strange reaction the day before. After breakfast, I force myself out the door and down the street to my school.
As I enter the halls of doom, I see Billy watching the doorway like a hawk. He immediately walks towards me. I feel my heart pounding as if it is going to jump to the floor and run away faster than I ever could. As he nears, he asks me a question I will hear echoing in my head throughout eternity. “How do you get them to come down and protect you like that?” Stunned by the question, I reply, what are you talking about. Yesterday I felt like I could kill you. As I stepped towards you I saw the Angels gathered around you. Tell me how you did it. My pounding heart seems to explode. I close my eyes for a second and tell God thanks for the miracle I had not noticed.
Billy, I didn’t call them down. They are with me all the time and they are with you even if you don’t notice. Every morning I ask God to protect me as I face the day and he does. With an interested look on his face Billy asks, what do I need to do for this protection? I begin to feel a calm within me as I tell Billy about God and all that he can, and will, do if he accepted his gift of life. I give him the extra pocket Bible I carry everyday and show him the promises of God it contains. Billy then asks me to help him through his personal prayer of salvation. I feel the power of God rush through my body as we begin to pray.
As the urges to shout and dance and sing fill my being, Billy tells me about the cuts and bruises he wears. My father sometimes drinks too much and gets mad about everything. I got these when I tried to stop him from hitting Mom the other night. I begin to understand the forces that had been driving Billy’s anger. I’m sorry for the comment I made yesterday. I didn’t know. Billy responds with a smile and says, don’t be sorry. That remark has changed my life forever.