The previous posting about the third grader reminded Rusty of another third grader who made a difference.

LaDonna Reeves was in Rusty’s class in school. She got married in the 10th grade so Rusty lost track of her. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2000, her name came to him real vividly. He told some co-workers on a Formosa Plastics construction project, “I haven’t thought of LaDonna Reeves in 40 years. Her name came to me a few minutes ago. I don’t have any idea what her need is but please pray for her.”

Some two years later, Rusty tracked her down and asked her if she minded him asking her about it. She caught her breath and haltingly replied, “That was….when…my .. mama… died.. in …my arms.”
Later, it was Rusty’s good fortune to have lunch with LaDonna Reeves Matthews in Gainesville, TX. Among the stories she related that day included one about Judy Payne, a classmate who got hit and killed by a car during our fourth grade year. Her story is a gut wrencher from many angles.

“We moved to Bethany when I was in the third grade. I couldn’t read nearly as well as the other kids and I fell behind in my grades. My family attended a different church than the “main” one in town. My mom was told by a school official, “If you folks don’t go to that church, you’ll never fit in here.”

"I didn’t have any friends and I was so terribly lonely and miserable. Do you remember that row of bushes right outside our classrooms at school? I wouldn’t play with the other kids during recess. Instead, I’d get in between the bushes and the schoolhouse and cry.

“One day Judy Payne heard me and came to see what was the matter. When I told her, she said, “I’ll help you learn to read.” So, from then on she helped me read while I held the book right up in front of my face. She also told me how much Jesus loved me and that gave me hope as well. I don’t know if Judy told her or not but when our teacher found out about my eyes, she called my mother.
“Mrs. Reeves, This is LaDonna’s teacher. Did you realize she can’t see well enough to do her school work?” Tactfully, she asked if it would be okay for her to have the little blonde headed girl’s eyes checked and buy her the glasses she needed.

Continuing her story, Mrs. Matthews related, “That opened a whole new world to me. I could SEE. After that I could read things on the blackboard and see the movies and slides they showed us. That made all the difference, not only in my grades, but my whole life.”

“After school, Judy would help me learn the bible. We’d hide in the big patch of cane in our back yards, our house was right behind Payne’s on the next street. Judy was my best friend. I was there when she got hit by that car and died right in front of me. I went back to that cane patch and cried for hours.”

Folks, if an eight or nine year old kid can have such an impact, what can we do to ease the pain of others?