The Bodyguard
by Sue
When I was at school, I would often stand over by the bicycle sheds waiting until the bell rang for us to go into school. One time a young girl, seeing me standing there on my own, came over and began to talk to me. She told me her name was Janice. It was obvious by the way she held her head that she suffered from a physical disability, but we chatted away freely and she told me that she was going to be leaving school at the end of the current school term.
We chatted about all sorts of things and I found myself confiding in her about problems I was experiencing at school through bullying. Janice said that the kids in her class made fun of her too, because of her problems. But then she pointed to a very tall and rather good-looking guy who was standing just a little way from us. He was tall, very smartly dressed, and was wearing an expensive-looking leather jacket.
“Do you see him?” she said. “He always is with me and he looks after me to make sure I don’t come to any harm.” How nice that is, I thought.
Well, Janice and I got on really well. She was such a cheery girl despite her problems and encouraged me with her words. “Things will get better,” she said. She wasn’t sure about what she would do when she left school, but she encouraged me to ignore those who would bully or be spiteful to me and the mockers. Janice was a very kind and gentle person, and I have never forgotten her – one of the most endearing personalities I have ever come across.
I am hoping that when I get to heaven, the Lord will say to me “Susan - this is Janice, who befriended you in your time of need in the playground.”
May God bless Janice wherever she is as she certainly helped me face my future with words of comfort and encouragement. Her boyfriend clearly loved her not for pity sake, because of her disability, but because of her great personality. He was not looking at her on the outside but looking at her on the inside, and he saw her heart and her personality.
God looks at us the same way. Not how we look on the outside but upon the heart. Our outward appearance does not really matter much - it’s what is on the Inside that counts.
"For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b)
So if you feel ‘unattractive’ as this world judges, take heart. God Loves you and thinks you are beautiful. Take courage and remember this and let it give you peace and comfort.
The Lord answered my prayers and He will answer yours. If we believe and put our trust in Him. And just like Janice I married a wonderful and good-looking man who would never let anyone harm me. That was a wonderful answer to my prayers.
The Lord looks after all who will love Him and trust Him. And there is a simple Sunday school song that echoes that profound truth in a simple form when it says:
Jesus’ love is very wonderful
So high - you can’t get over it
So low - you can’t get under it
So wide - you can’t get around it
O, wonderful love.