It’s a phrase that you’ve probably heard a million times by now: never judge a book by its cover. Even though it’s definitely a bit cliché, the saying is also very true.
This is something that most people seem to realize when they older, as you learn you can never know what someone has been through in their life. All the good things, or all the bad things, we can’t possibly know everyone’s story – and it would be wrong to judge people purely based on the ‘cover’.
The reality is often very different from what it may seem at a first glance.
Taking care of sick children is a tragic but good example of exactly that.
Sometimes, you can’t see that someone is ill, and it’s easy to make a quick judgment before you even know the full story.
Brent Gehring from Papillon, Nebraska recently had an interaction with a stranger.
The man took his wife and his 6-year-old daughter Emma out to dinner one day, but then someone yelled at both Brent and his little girl.
This certainly wasn’t the first time that Brent has heard hurtful remarks, and needed a moment to figure out if he was going to lash out at this stranger and pick a fight or do something else entirely.
Apparently, the stranger yelled at them because Brent carried Emma around everywhere, and he seemingly couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just walk.
In reality, Emma can’t walk on her own.
She was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of seven months old and can’t move without a walker or help from her family.
Emma’s condition, pilomyxoid astrocytoma, is quite severe, but the little girl never lost hope that one day she’d get better.
She’s also had to endure multiple rounds of chemotherapy that are very taxing on her and her family. When dad heard the stranger’s rude remarks, his heart sank and his first instinct was to yell back at him.
“My daughter and I were leaving dinner the other night at Union Oyster House in Boston, MA. A dinner donated to us by an amazing business and friend that has been in our “family” for years. When I crossed the street carrying her, she can’t walk without the use of her walker. A man yelled at me from 30’ away: “What the F*+k?” He yelled. “Make her walk. That’s what is wrong with kids today.”
However, dad decided not to escalate things further.
Instead, he took a calm approach and simply tried to talk to the man.
Being yelled at just because you’re taking care of a sick child – you’d become absolutely irate for less. Brent said to himself that he had a choice to make, and he decided to teach the man a lesson in a calm and well-thought-out manner.
“I had a choice to make at that time,” Brent continues. “Can I make myself feel better by screaming at him or can I teach him something about life? I won’t lie to you and tell you that it was an easy choice but I got inches from his face, with my daughter in my arms, and quietly asked him if he was referring to my daughter. “Hell yes,” he said.”
After a deep breath, Brent calmly explained the situation to the stranger.
“I responded with “My daughter has been carrying my faith and my strength for the past 5 years since she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She can’t walk but I am happy to carry her because of all the amazing things she has taught me through the years. So I would advise you not to address my daughter in any way other than respectful.”
Brent didn’t explain in detail what transpired next, but he does let us know that it certainly didn’t end there. He had a heart to heart and man to man talk with the stranger.
By the end of their talk, both of them had tears in their eyes.
“I won’t tell you the rest of the story but it ended with two grown men with tears rolling down their faces. One that needed to have his eyes opened to what real life and real love is and one that is always needing a reminder that good can come from any situation. This story is only important if it serves as a reminder that you don’t always know the whole story so don’t judge others.”
This father could’ve easily gone the other way, and treated the stranger with the same rudeness and disrespect.
However, he chose to teach him that you really can’t judge a book by its cover, however cliché that may sound.
“You have the power to make people’s days better or worse. What did you do today? What will you do tomorrow?” he concluded.
You can read more about Brent and his daughter’s encounter in his post below.
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https://www.facebook.com/EmmaStrongInc/photos/a.674175816116715/867037380163890/?type=3
