Points2Ponder

    "What would his life had been IF he couldn't speak?"

               Points2Ponder

                                       By Alan P. Scaglone

 
We spend so much time wondering what if?
All the things that could have happened better in our life.
We always sit back and wonder What If that had happened or What if things had been reversed?

Points2Ponder  When’s the last time you thanked God for what you don’t have?”

I take calls for a living.
I spend my day talking to people.
I actually enjoy it, and for the most part, I have not become jaded or suspicious of people and their motives.
People interest me.
I actively listen.
I am “in the moment” while they are speaking.
I give them my full attention.
It’s not just my job—it’s how I live!
I really do try to give people the same respect I would want to receive.
I often say to a customer who has thanked me for listening to them, really listening.
My line is “I tell me wife that I try to remember, but for the grace of God, there go I!”
Just never realized how true that line was.
I had a call from a man who actually was born the same month and year as I .
He was calling for an update on his claim.
I quickly scan the claim to see how I can help him—while I am listening to him speak.
And it only takes a moment before I realize—he is stuttering.
I check the diagnosis of the claim—no head injury, no throat ailment, no accident.
Nope—this gentleman is just someone who stutters.
And it was a bad case of it too.
I felt so bad for him—I tried to anticipate what he was trying to say just so I could help.
As the call ended, he thanked me for being so patient with him—he said most people aren’t.
I told him that it was a pleasure speaking to him and wished him a good day.
And then…
I sat at my desk and shed a tear.
Not for him—for me!
You see—I was a stutterer!
Really bad—they would say “stop and think about what you want to say BEFORE you open your mouth!”
I used to get so frustrated with myself and with others—
I spent 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade in speech class, three times a week—all to help me with my stuttering.
And finally, I just got it under control—really did—stopped, clearly thought out my sentences BEFORE speaking…and it became second nature.
I would love to tell you that God touched my tongue and miraculously healed my stuttering, and I know He had a hand in it, I am sure, but..
I have to thank the Hillsborough County School System in Tampa, Florida who believed that a poor boy deserved to have the additional help that only they could provide.
My parents could not afford to send me to a speech pathologist—much less 2- three times a week!
Nope—if it were up to my parents and their economic standing—I would still be stuttering today—just like that man.
Instead…I have lived a life of public speaking…
From being 11 years old and teaching the adult Sunday school class, which Brother and Sister Brock still remember me teaching on “faith!”
To the many presentations in boardrooms across the world, teaching and presenting without out one moment of hesitation.
I have preached weddings and funerals—
I have spoken in large gatherings—Including stopping the crowd at an Indiana Jones presentation at Universal Studios while my two brothers looked on, mortified.
I have had this wonderful life where speaking has been my expression.
So I have to thank God today for what I am NOT!
What about you?
What are you NOT that you want to thank God for?
 
I’m Just… Reflecting on -- Life!

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