Back To Home Page To Archives - Spring of Life - H. Roger Bothwell 37.5 Hours The 2003 fall semester is over. If a student faithfully attended all the class Sessions, I had them for 37.5 hours. 37.5 hours sounds like a lot of time. It's not. Students come from so many different backgrounds. Some have lived good lives surrounded by a loving family. Others come from tragic pain-filled homes and have suffered unspeakable loss. At the close of this semester, while reading a paper, I learned one of my student's entire family had died of AIDS. She was the only one left. I cannot even begin to comprehend the loss and emptiness of her life. When I look into their faces I wonder where they have come from and why they are with me. Does God have a specific plan for each of our lives? Does He direct our paths? Proverbs 3:6 says, "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Does that mean only those who ask for guidance receive it? Have some of my students arrived in my classroom because God directed them there and others arrived by random chance? Either way the raw fact is I only have 37.5 hours to make a difference. Actually I wish I had all 37.5 hours to make a difference. The truth is the difference can happen in just one tiny moment. The way I treat them, the way I answer or do not answer a question, an off-the-cuff remark might be the only thing they remember. I remember more about my teachers' personalities than anything they ever said in a lecture. It's a scary thing to be a teacher. I'm Roger Bothwell and my address is roger.bothwell@verizon.net or 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453. Thank you for your support of our faith ministry. Past devotionals can be accessed at Archives