The inspirational Miss Noe
Howard Hendricks was raised in a broken home. He recalled, “My parents separated when I came along. I split the family.” Howard’s Grandmother brought him up, and he described himself as a “troublemaker” during his school years, acting out a lot of deep insecurities.
His fifth-grade teacher wrote that of all the boys in her care, he was the, “Most likely to end up in prison.” Once, she even tied him to his seat with a rope and taped his mouth shut, such was her frustration with his behaviour.
Yet everything changed for that boy when he met his sixth-grade teacher. He introduced himself to Miss Noe, and she said these incredible words to him,
“I’ve heard a lot about you.
But I don’t believe a word of it.”
Then she smiled at him. Those words went on to change his life. Miss Noe made him realize for the first time that there was hope for him and that someone cared. Her words echoed round in his mind and told him that he had a future – that he not a complete failure in her eyes.
Later he was to remark, “People are always looking for someone to say, “I believe in you.” He went on to prove how he could be like this for many people. In fact, Howard went on to become one of the most influential Christians in the whole of the USA – (You can read more of this is my next blog.)
Can you imagine what would have happened if God had not planted Miss Noe in this man’s life? What if she had not felt able to say that one phrase that had so much power?
Who is God putting in your world who you wish you could “tie to a chair and tape their mouths?” Who is God causing you to be frustrated by?
Maybe, just maybe, you could be a Miss Noe for them today.