These words can change someone’s life.
Teenagers often get a bad rap for being impulsive. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s often deserved. Their frontal lobes are not developed, which can lead them to do foolish things that sometimes have dire consequences. They also have the capacity to drive their parents to the edge of insanity when they don’t think their actions through before acting.
But, the other side of their impulsivity is the fact that they often act on feelings and are led by their hearts and not their minds.
I came across a story yesterday about a sixteen- year- old Irish boy named Jamie. It was simply too good not to share. Last April, Jamie was on the way to the store to buy Gatorade when he passed by a man in his thirties, sitting on the ledge of a bridge. He felt that something was wrong and he went over and asked him, “Are you okay?”
The fact that he stopped in the first place, is amazing to me. Would you have stopped? I don’t know if I would have. I could probably have come up with a dozen reasons not to. The man could be dangerous. He could be just trying to trick someone into coming over, so he could abduct them. But, that’s a grown up, fully developed frontal lobe talking.
Jamie stopped. After asking the man if he was okay, the man said nothing, but tears were in his eyes. Jamie knew he couldn’t leave him and begged him to come and sit with him on the stairs. Would I have pleaded with the man? Would you have?
The man finally joined him on the stairs and Jamie spent 45 minutes talking to him. When he had somewhere else to be, he asked the man if he could call an ambulance. The man was reluctant. He said he would be fine. Jamie insisted and the man agreed. Would you have walked away at this point?
Jamie exchanged phone numbers with the man so he could keep in touch with him. They did keep in touch. The man got better and three months later he texted Jamie that his wife was pregnant and they were having a boy. They were naming the baby, Jamie.
Jamie said that those three words have stayed on his mind since that day. “Are you okay?” He told the man later that he couldn’t believe that those three words could save a life. The man told him, “Imagine if nobody ever asked you those words.”
We never know what trials the people around us are going through and unfortunately, we are often too wrapped up in our own lives to care. Adults are creatures of the mind and of intellect, and we need to be to a certain extent, but neglecting to listen to our hearts and care about those around us, is dangerous.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 He also told us to love one another. I think Jamie is a shining example of both.
Maybe we can all learn something from our teens after all.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂