The Whisper Test
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
I Thessalonians 5:11
Mary Ann Bird was born in Brooklyn, New York in August 1928. However, Mary Ann came into the world looking far from normal. She had multiple birth defects: deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose, and lopsided feet.
As difficult as her physical condition was, the psychological pain it caused was far worse. Her classmates teased her mercilessly.
Each year the children had their hearing assessed at the school through a vehicle called “the whisper test.” The classroom teacher would call each child to the front desk and have the child cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would then whisper some simple phrase to the child, such as, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.”
If the child could repeat the phrase, then their hearing was apparently fine and they passed the test.
To avoid humiliation, Mary Ann always cheated on the test, casually cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she could hear what the teacher said.
One year, Mary Ann’s classroom teacher was Miss Leonard, one of the most beloved and popular teachers in the school. She exuded gentleness and kindness. When the time came for Mary Ann’s hearing test, Mary Ann cupped her hand over her good ear as she had done so many times before and strained to hear what Miss Leonard would whisper.
“I waited for those words,” Mary Ann wrote, “that God must have put into her mouth; those seven words that changed my life.”
Miss Leonard did not say, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” She whispered, “I wish you were my little girl.” And those seven positive, powerful words became a watershed moment in Mary Ann Bird’s life.
Positive, Powerful Words
In one way, nothing really changed for Mary Ann Bird that day. She remained disfigured and deaf in one ear and the object of her classmates’ painful ridicule. But, in another way, everything changed for Mary Ann Bird that day. She began to see that her classmates’ judgments were neither the only words about her nor the final words.
She started to understand herself as loved and lovable and dared to envision a future not constrained by her circumstances but a future that could transcend them. Indeed, following in the footsteps of the teacher who set her free, Mary Ann Bird herself became an acclaimed teacher known for her compassion and kindness.
If love has a face what will it look like? We can make a fairly accurate guess as to how Mary Ann Bird would answer that question – love will look like Mrs. Leonard whispering those seven life-changing words.
If love has a face what will it look like?
There are other “Mary Anns” in our spheres of influence who are no less in need to see what love looks like. It might well be you who will be the one whose timely words encourage them and build them up. Who knows? Those words could well be life-changing.
PRAYER
Lord, I’m struck not only by this story but by Paul’s reminder to encourage one another and build one another up. May I be “Mrs. Leonard” to someone this week.
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