Please Note: This post was published in my “Growing Up in Highland Park, MI” blog. I thought some of my subscribers would relate to what I wrote about teachers.
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I don’t know if we ever had a Teacher Appreciation Week when I went to school, but I do know that I never showed any real appreciation to my teachers. Why wasn’t I appreciative of the efforts of my many teachers?
Growing up and going to school, I basically lived in my own little world. My focus was upon myself, sometimes family and a few friends. I never thought about the lives of the teachers that I had throughout my days in school. Teachers were like the furniture in the school. They were a necessary fixture. Yes, many were nice and a few not so nice. However, I never really thought about them as people. I never thought about the fact that they had personal lives with heartaches, problems, sicknesses, and needs. I don’t think I ever said “thank you” or an encouraging word to any of my teachers.
Today I am typing this post because I had teachers that taught me how to read, and write. Several teachers poured themselves into teaching me grammar and spelling. I had an eighth grade teacher that taught me how to type. My tenth grade speech teacher gave me my first lessons in public speaking. Now, as a pastor, I preach the Word of God three times a week. There are many other things that I learned in school, that I use today. Yet, I rarely think about the teacher that taught me the very things that I know today.
Bible Treasures for Today 
I have some sandstone coasters I bought while in North Caroline. One reads, “A teacher takes a hand, opens the mind, and touches the heart.” Another reads, “Teachers plant seeds that grow forever.” But most importantly another reads, “Anyone can become a father. It takes someone special to be a DAD.” As you clearly reminded us Pastor Booth, that teachers are people with real needs, and most are also moms and dads. As a child growing up in a “disfunctional” home without love or parental guidance, the teachers who had the greatest impact on my life were those who seemed to take a personal interest in me, like a mom or dad. I cannot describe how God used these teachers later in my life to surrender to the love and parental authority of God as my heavenly but personal Father. These public school teachers were not saved, but they taught like moms and dads, in spite of their own real needs. Maybe because of their own real needs they were able to see that I my own special needs apart from the other kids. At least that is how I now see it, and it is how I serve my Lord and love my Father. Thank you Pastor Booth for the reminder that teachers, police, store clerks, people we see every day who are serving us… have real needs. Whether or not they are interested in hearing the gospel we can always show our personal respect and appreciation by speaking to them as individuals with personal needs, and one day they may let us show them who they truly need, our Father and Savior.