Samaritan’s Corner: The Penguin’s Angel

Cary, NC – Welcome to Samaritan’s Corner. Let’s Talk!

P! T! A! Prepare! The! Article!

That’s exactly what I thought during a PTA meeting I attended a few weeks ago at my son’s school!! While covering many different topics in the meeting, Mrs. Bame, my son’s Principal, began to veer off of the path a little. She started talking about this lady named Maria! Mrs. Bame went on and on about how loving, caring and neccesary Maria is to everyone in the school, especially the children! As Mrs. Bame continued to brag about the “Wonderful Maria,” whom I had never met, I could almost see tears building up in her eyes.

From day one, I’ve said that the articles I write will be about wonderful people that we never hear about, and the wonderful things that God is using them to do! When I met with Maria to take her picture for this article, the first thing I noticed was her natural Columbian beauty, which was “IMMEDIATELY” followed by her tender inner beauty that proved every emotional word that Mrs. Bame had spoken about her to be absolute truth! What a sweet, sweet soul Maria was! With her standing right in front of me, I looked up the definition of the name Maria, and this is the very first thing that popped up!

Maria- “Maria is a very talented person who knows how to make someone smile. She’s a person you would want to trust with anything in any way. Maria is the type of person that is always willing to put others before herself.”

And that, folks, is pretty much everything Mrs. Bame said about sweet Maria!! Unfortunately, in our society today, the two most disregarded people are children and women. If they’re not treated like objects or pawns, they’re being treated like rejects. They’re constantly having to fight to be heard and are constantly crying out to be properly loved. When God created woman, one of the main reasons was because He knew that a man could never accomplish the work set out for him without a great woman. If you don’t believe me, look it up for yourself! Look at the human body!! Eve was pulled from Adam’s rib! The ribs are on the “SIDE” of the man! Not under his feet being walked all over as if she was of lesser value! When God speaks of “WISDOM” in the Bible, He refers to it as “SHE!”

Do you get where I’m going with this?!? Women are so special in the eyes of the Lord, so much so that He blessed them with the honor and privilege to carry human life! It’s a no brainer, people!! They’re the core of our society, they’re the strength when we’re weak and they’re the ones that God Himself named “WISDOM” after!!! Maria!! If every teacher and student had 10,000 tongues each, and they all took turns explaining how much they needed you, they wouldn’t even come close to scratching the surface of how important you are to each of them.

You’re a “PEACEMAKER,” Maria! James 3:18 – Those who are “PEACEMAKERS” will plant seeds of peace. Maria, unfortunately, so many of the children walking the halls of our schools are carrying burdens they didn’t ask for. Hunger, neglect, abuse, insecurity and poor health are just some of the things that rest as dead weight on the shoulders of these innocent babies. So to have someone like you, a “God Sent Angel,” posing as a custodian, to love and watch over the hearts of our babies, is just one more piece of powerful proof of God’s beautiful love for us all.

So Maria, you keep right on sowing your wonderful seeds of peace into lives inside and outside of the walls of Laurel Park Elementary! And when you do, take a little time every day to recognize and enjoy the “Love Harvest” that the Lord has given back to you!! They love, adore and appreciate you Maria!

So from me, and the entire Laurel Park family, we say “Thank You” Maria! Thank you for simply being who you are.

Story and photos by Jimi Clemons.