Encouragement

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My name is 37. No last name or middle name, only 37. Strange ? How come someone's name is a number ? Perhaps. I myself didn't remember since when someone called me that. Since I can remember, my parents always called me 37. They always said, “ You are useless and pathetic,37! You'll never be a 100 ! How come I gave birth to a child like you? Look at your cousin,62. 62 is a very smart and kind child. Why can't you be like him? You are a disappointment !”
The same thing also happened at school, all my friends and teachers called me 37.

My name is 37. I don't like that name,but everyone called me that. Everyone decided that that is my name. I tried to be a better person, study more,wore a better clothes. Perhaps now they will call me differently. Maybe they'll call me 63 or at least 45. But alas, nobody cares. My parents rolled their eyes and said,” You are 37 and forever will be 37. There's no way you can be a better person. Just get used to it!”.
My name is 37. Everyone decided that that is my name. I don't like that name, but there's nothing I can do about it. Beside, I'm not the only one.

There is 92. Well, actually 92 is not his real name. He called himself 92, but we called him 22. Of course, we never called him that in his face. He usually got angry and punched anyone who called him that. He may arrogantly called himself 92,but we all knew the truth. We may smiled in front of him,but behind him we made fun of his name,his real name.

And there is 88. Like 92, 88 is not his real name. Actually, 88 is his father's name. No one knew his real name,and neither did he. From the time he can speak, people around him called him 88. They called him with respect, they treated him with respect,because his father's name is 88. They called him 88 out of respect for his father. He might be happy with that, but for me it's kinda sad. He didn't know his real name and maybe he'll never know.

But the weirdest name of all is 13. Not because his name is 13, but because he doesn't seem to care about that. His name is the worst, but he didn't seem to mind when someone made fun of that. Once, I asked him why he acted like that.

“ How come you never get sad or angry? We called you the worst name of all, yet you just brushed it off as if it's nothing. Don't you care about what we called you?”
“ Why should I? You all can call me anything you want, and I won't care a bit. Why....I know my real name. My real name is 100!”
“ Are you kidding me? No one's name is 100! You don't even look like a 100. Who called you that? Who gave you that name?”
“ You don't know HIM. HE came to me and told me that i”m not 13. HE told me that my real name is 100, and I believe HIM.”
“ Why? Why do you believe HIM ?”
“ Because HE died for me, to show me that I'm worthy of that name, that I'm a 100.”
“ But you don't seem like a 100,” I protested .

Chuckled, he answered, “ I know. It will take time for me to be a real 100. You know, when Michelangelo sculpts a statue, he doesn't shape a stone into a statue. He believed that the statue itself is already in that stone. What he need to do is chisel away the unnecessary part. It's the same for me. When I believe HIM, I'm a 100! What I need to do is chisel away the bad part bit by bit until the real 100 surfaced.”

Weird logic, but somehow I can understand that. I let people around me to decide my name, to decide what I'm gonna be, to shape my self and my future, to decide who I really am. I let this world sculpted me as they wished. But, 13 is different. He doesn't let this world decide who he is. He told me, he doesn't care what people called him. He open his ear and listened only for 2 person, a person he loves and a person he respects. Other that that, whether he's being called king or beggar, he doesn't care. For him, the Person who died for him and called him 100 is the one he really listened. HIS words weights more than everyone else.
I asked him, who is the name of a Person who called him 100. And he answered, “ Jesus”.
Maybe I'll let HIM called me 100,too.

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