“Wait a minute. You can’t come in here with that kind of attitude first thing on a Monday morning.” I stopped the angry girl at the door.

“Man, them boys always gotta’ start something. I just cain’t take it, Mrs. Adams. Ima bust ‘em up they keep sassing me.”

Every Monday morning, this was the pattern. Angry girl. Ready to fight.

Finally, one Monday morning, I pulled the young lady into my office before school started. “Let’s talk. Every Monday you come to school angry. Then by the middle of the morning I see you put your head down and fall sound asleep. The rest of the week is different, though. I see you participating in class and laughing with people. What can I do to help you with Mondays?”

“Ima just say it, Mrs. Adams. They deal drugs outside my window all weekend. How am I sposed to sleep when I know what they’re doin’ out there? I get scared. And sometimes I sleep on the floor, under the bed.”

Her words grabbed my heart. “How about we work out a little deal? Just between me and you. Every Monday, no questions asked, I will leave a mat in that cabinet. If you need to sleep, come into my office, close the door, and turn off the lights. I will give you until lunchtime. But after that, I need you back in class. Deal?”

“Thank you,” she smiled and dabbed at her eye. “It means a lot.”

We never know what someone else’s life is like, do we? If we aren’t careful, we can only look at the actions and attitudes and think that’s the whole picture. But every action and attitude come from somewhere. There are always hidden factors shaping our lives.

Every person has silent struggles. Every person has secrets they keep. Every person has a reason for their fears and hesitations.

Instead of leaping to conclusions, let’s step back and look at the person differently. There just might be more to that man, woman, child, or situation than we ever realized. Let’s look through the eyes of our heart.

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