Three Letters From Teddy

Today I read a short story entitled, "Three Letters From Teddy."

Here is a summary by columnist Dennis Roddy:

"The story in a nutshell: Mrs. Thompson, an elementary school teacher, dislikes a grubby, ill-kept little underachiever in her class who, one Christmas, presents her with a broken rhinestone bracelet and a bottle of cheap perfume. She checks his records, finds that his mother has died, and after a weepy hour of self-reproach, takes him under her wing, where he blossoms. There follows three letters after he moves out of town.

He graduates high school with honors

He graduates college with honors.

He is now Dr. Theodore Stallard, M.D.--How about that!--and wants her attend his wedding and sit where his mother would have sat. She, of course, wears the broken rhinestone bracelet."

I was so moved by the full account, that I decided to research it, and was disappointed to discover that it is an urban legend. It was originally authored over 25 years ago by Eliazabeth Silance Ballard as a fictional story for Home Life magazine. Still....it doesn't have to have actually occurred to be meaningful to me. The Savior's parables, though fictional, teach valuable messages. Reading The Teddy Stallard Story has helped me remember the power I have to make a difference in someone's life. Although my contribution may not be as significant or far-reaching as the fictional Mrs. Thompson's, I can still help to make someone's world a better place.