2 . Jean was a single mother with a young son. She taught the first grade and worked very hard. She drove a small old car. One August, the teachers returned from a summer break to see Jean drive up to school with three children The two girls were Jean’s former students who had lost their parents. They did not want to enter a foster care center. They turned to Jean—their first grade teacher—for help. Though she and her son lived in a small house, Jean took the girls in.

During lunch, while other teachers shared life stories, Jean never complained about her new responsibilities. She did, however, speak about her car. With three children to transport, the car was too small and slow. It even burned engine oil. Jean needed something new. However, she couldn’t buy one with three children in her home.

As a good friend, I listened to her concerns. At that time, did not have much money. But I wanted to help Jean buy a car. An idea hit me when I watched a TV show.

One day, Jean received an invitation to TV show. She was surprised but decided to attend it. Midway through the show the host called Jean to the stage. He explained he had received a letter, knowing her need for a new car. The audience listened to the details of Jean’s story and were all moved. Then the host said that Jean would receive a new car for her family. Cheers filled the studio and Jean shook with disbelief.

Six hundred miles away, I watched the joy of it all from the television in my living room. Jean’s big heart taught me many lessons that year. I did nothing but share her story.

When a tornado(龙卷风) touched down in a small town nearby,many families were left completed ruined. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.

One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered(破碎的) mobile home, a depressed expression on her face. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downward. Clutching(紧握) at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I stuck the picture of the young family on our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three-year-old Meghan.

“These poor people now have nothing,” I said. “We’ll share what we have with them. I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods.

While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up old toys and games.

Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She came to the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy's flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.

“Oh, Honey,” I said.” You don’t have to give Lucy. You love her so much.”

Meghan nodded seriously, eyes filled with held-back tears. "Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she’ll make that other little girl happy,too.”

The boys had watched,open-mouthed,as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box.

I looked my children for a long moment.

4 . Learning to Accept

I learned how to accept life as it is from my father. _______, he did not teach me acceptance when he was strong and healthy, but rather when he was   _________ and ill.

My father was _______ a strong man who loved being active, but a terrible illness _______ all that away. Now he can no longer walk, and he must sit quietly in a chair all day. Even talking is   _______. One night, I went to visit him with my sisters. We started _______ about life, and I told them about one of my_______. I said that we must very often give things up _______ we grow --- our youth, our beauty, our friends --- but it always _______ that after we give something up, we gain something new in its place. Then suddenly my father ________ up. He said, “But, Peter, I gave up ________! What did I gain?” I thought and thought, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. ________, he answered his own question: “I ________ the love of my family,” I looked at my sisters and saw tears in their eyes, along with hope and thankfulness.

I was also ________ by his words. After that, when I began to feel irritated (愤怒的) at someone, I ________ remember his words and become ________. If he could replace his great pain with a feeling of love for others, then I should be ________ to give up my small irritations. In this ________, I learned the power of acceptance from my father.

Sometimes I ________ what other things I could have learned from him if I had listened more carefully when I was a boy. For now, though, I am grateful for this one ________