LEAven Blog

It’s April! The end of the school year is around the corner! That means change is coming.  I could talk about many types of change, but the change I have in mind involves how our students grow and change over time. When the last day of this school year has come and gone, there will be students whom we will have seen for the last time in their educational journey.  That can be difficult for teachers and students alike! But then…well, rather than write a lecture, consider the following story from my own situation earlier this spring, when one of our former Grace Chapel students came back to school to say hello. 

From a Facebook post a few weeks ago: “Today was one of THOSE days…a day that reminds me how blessed I am to have ‘pastored’ a congregation for 12 years, and then to have been in middle school education for somewhere around 20 years (in NC and in MO). Matthew came home! Who is Matthew? He is currently in his second (of four) year of study at Concordia Seminary here in St. Louis. Matthew is going to be a pastor in our church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Today, he returned to his elementary and middle school. He came back to Grace Chapel to lead our Chapel service during National Lutheran Schools Week. It was wonderful to see Matthew again. This young man was so impressive in his proclamation of God’s Word, making sure we heard the Law of God, but also making sure we heard the Gospel. The room was quiet while he was speaking. It wasn’t the quiet of ‘my teacher is going to get on us if we talk a lot,’ it was the quiet of a sanctuary full of young people who were paying attention to the preacher/presenter. The message was more interesting than the side conversations! I was tremendously impressed. But then, I’ve known Matthew for a long time now, and his work among us today should not surprise me at all. He has always been a person of integrity and maturity, while maintaining a great sense of humor. I can tell he will be a blessing wherever he lands in the Church. There were people present who knew Matthew from his school days. Sandy, who has worn a variety of administrative hats, knew Matthew throughout Grace; Becka was Matthew’s 3rd-grade teacher; Lisa taught Matthew in pre-Kindergarten; and I taught Math and Science during Matthew’s middle school years. Anytime one of our students returns in any capacity, it is a good day! Every generation praises God for the generations that go before us, as well as those that follow in our footsteps as servants in God’s Kingdom!”

It is difficult to say goodbye to students, but oh, the joy when they return, and we see the mature, capable, faith-filled adults they have become, and we humbly recognize that God saw fit to use US as some of the adults who influence and teach these young people. Also, a reminder that even though Matthew will be a pastor, our teaching touches the lives of students who go into a wide variety of career fields.  Engineers, lawyers, medical personnel, business owners, teachers, pastors, the list goes on. In a few weeks, we will close out another school year.  Some of our students will be back with us next year.  But, for those who won’t be back – you just wait. Wait for the day when they walk back into your room and ask that age-old question, “Teacher, do you remember me?” Just look at how, with God’s help, they have blossomed!  Thanks be to God for blessing our students and for blessing us through them!

Have a super end of the school year, and a very blessed summer!