How Grateful

How Grateful. I am working on saying that to myself daily. How Grateful am I. How Grateful I am to be a child of God. Have you used that today...."How Grateful____"

Today I felt very grateful because of one situation. I was born and raised in the United States...in America...in the land of the free and the brave. In saying this I want to tell you a story about a friend that made me appreciate my country, my home more than I ever have before.

I want to introduce a friend. A kind, dear friend that has taught me so much about our wonderful country that we live in. I have known him for the past 3 years at work. I am not quite sure how I first met him but he may have introduced himself to me before I realized I would be making a lifelong friend.

His name is Sly(nickname). He and his family are from Mexico but have lived in America for years. He has a cute round face and the biggest smile I have ever seen. He has dark brown hair with the most wonderful curls. I mean I know that no man wants to be known for his curls but trust me you would understand if you saw these curls. They are awesome! His personality is contagious and his heart speaks thru everything that he does....Every action he takes he leaves his mark of kindness, laughter, and love. He loves people. He wants you to know that he cares and that he and his family would do anything to help you. It's takes little English to know that he cares.

My earliest memory of Sly was when he asked me why I was so happy all the time. I challenged him with a guessing game. "Sly," I said," I want you to guess why I am so happy." This went on for weeks. Sly guessing at what made me happy and he was not getting it right. I told him to keep guessing. Finally he and Alfredo walked thru my office door one day. He said, " I know why you are so happy. You have Jesus in your heart." Very few words, very little communication was all that it took for him to recognize that the Holy Spirit had consumed me and that is what kept me happy. A special moment in my first few months as Sly's friend.

Over the past few months Sly and I have been having the best conversations. Do you know what they have been about...well frankly it has been about English and how difficult the language is and how hard it is to learn. So many exceptions to the rule and different pronunciations, etc. The list goes on and on as far as how hard it can be. I can't imagine trying to do what he has attempted.

Sly has been the exception to the rule in this case. He wants to be a part of our country by understanding our language and respecting those around him. He wants others to know that he cares. He cares about being impactful in his culture by setting the example. He told me plainly the other day that he wants to do it for his children. He wants to be able to go to a business dinner and be able to carry on a conversation with those around him. He wants to be able to talk to his children's friends and future coworkers. He desires that communication and because he feels that it is the best to know it himself and not rely on someone else to translate.

At work today I had a phone call from Sly. He let me know that he was ready to go over his homework. Yes, I am responsible for giving a 40 year old man homework. Homework to help him with his English. I told him to come on over to my office and we would go over it.

He brought his grammar worksheets to me. I read thru them out loud and he listened to me very carefully as I slowly read the directions and the sentences he had just read thru. I repeated the definitions of words and phrases that he had tried to match. He did a great job! Was he 100%...well not quite but oh was the effort there.

We discussed synonyms. Same or similar. That is what I kept repeating to him. The directions had called for Sly to read the sentence and write a word that was similar to the one that had been underlined. This was a struggle because even when there are similar words they are not always guaranteed to fit in the sentence. We worked thru those worksheets and I have never seen someone get so excited about grammar. He was absolutely thrilled that we had spent 15 minutes dissecting a grammar worksheet. We had to get back to the basics or he was never going to be able to get his GED. You see...this is one of his goals in the next year.

I tell you this story for several reasons. Do we all appreciate what we have to live in this amazing country that sits before us or do we walk thru our day and not think a thing about it? Sly helped me realize that I should be ever so grateful to be so rich...and dollar signs has nothing to do with it.