LSEM > Devotions > With Appreciation…

With Appreciation…

  • May 4, 2021
  • Posted by: Carolyn Mahal
  • Category: Devotions
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Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

I say that because my calendar say that this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and I hope that you have a very good week celebrating it in whichever way your school (or schools) choose to do so. I know that some of you will have special treats provided for you: gifts, cards, lunches, presents and the like. You will enjoy and appreciate these things and I pray that they will help to remind you of how special you are to the families and students whose lives you impact every day.

But I want you to know two things:

First: On behalf of everyone at LSEM, we CELEBRATE your amazing work this week, but we APPRECIATE you 24/7/365. We are proud of you and thank you for the long hours, the flexibility of adapting to changing schedules, the patience you display when repeating your directions or discovering new ways to teach a concept so that the student can better understand it. You are dedicated, hard-working, passionate, caring, and generously give of yourselves so that your students will gain in wisdom, improve their skill set and grow academically and spiritually. Not everyone can do this. It takes a special person to effectively do the work that you do, and we are extremely thankful for everything you have accomplished this school year.

That’s important, but it pales in comparison to what comes next…

Second: God loves you beyond what words could describe. Before you were conceived, He knew who you were and that you would become a teacher working with students with special needs. In love, He equipped you with the many skills and gifts that you have to make you a great teacher. Through His love for you and your students, He has brought you together to work in your classrooms; to connect, to share, to collaborate as you do the necessary work to help the student be successful. Together, you build each other up, you encourage each other to continue, you challenge each other to achieve goals that seemed out of reach only a few weeks ago. God has given you everything you need to praise Him through the life-changing educational work you do in you classroom. It’s not always easy, but the love God shares with you compels you to share it with your students. In fact, the love God shares with us all not only provides for our earthly needs. More importantly, through Jesus’ perfect life, death on a cross, and His resurrection from the dead, God demonstrates the greatest love ever. Or as Paul wrote to the Romans, “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Now THAT’s a level of appreciation that could never be matched. Christ’s sacrifice given for us undeserving sinners was made because of God’s great love for each one of us. With that reminder firmly in place, know that you are loved beyond compare and share that great love with everyone you see today.

Again, thank you for everything you do to build the Kingdom of God one student at a time!

 

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

LSEM Director of Programs & Services