Skip to main content

Friday With Friends

Friday With Friends is hosted by Jennifer over at Trading Ashes For Beauty.  Friday With Friends is a time to relax and enjoy getting to know one another through the blogging world!  For today we are encouraged to share a memory of school days and perhaps a favorite teacher.

Some of my first thoughts were "oh my, that was a long time ago...", but instantly my favorite teacher came to mind.  Miss Polley was my third grade teacher and a blessing truly sent from the Lord.

It was during my third grade year that my home life seemed to get turned completely upside down.  I had been raised in a loving home with a father who owned his own business and did well financially and a mother who stayed at  home with my brother and I.  We faithfully attended church and I was blessed to attend a Christian school from pre-k till then.  Through a few wrong influences, my father began making poor choices that escalated into consequences of losing his business, many friends and family. Our normal way of life got turned completely upside down.

I entered 3rd grade a shy girl, without much confidence and desperately seeking some stability in my life.  Miss Polley tucked me under her arm and provided the love, comfort and guidance that I needed.  Although she didn't encourage me to do great things or share and inspire me to greater challenges, she knew that I simply needed some unconditional love and acceptance.  She spent time with me, noticed things that were going on, in my life bought me ice cream and did many small acts of kindness for me.  I had eye surgery that year and she visited me in the hospital, came to our home, went out to dinner with us etc.  She established a relationship with me and my family that is still cherished in my heart to this day.  Many people thought I was being treated as "the teachers pet", but I know that she was led by the Lord to provide exactly what I needed during that time of my life. 

If there is a lesson taken from that year that I can use to this day it is to love others through their circumstances. Being kind, showing love and attention can go a long way in helping them cope with their circumstances.  The blanket of unconditional love warms and protects the heart.  It is often the unlovable that need love and attention the most, but with God's guidance and wisdom, we can extend His grace, love and help. 

I didn't have a picture of myself at this age available, but will share one from the teenage years! 


Labels:

Comments

  1. Linda CJune 4, 2010 at 12:56 PM

    What a beautiful post! That is one special teacher. Having been a teacher myself- it really touched my heart.

    Thanks for your sweet comment over at my place:)

    Have a great Friday and weekend!:)
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenniferJune 4, 2010 at 4:40 PM

    So glad you joined us!! Have to say - LOVE THE HAIR! We were with the "in crowd" of what?!?! I don't really know about me and the in crowd but that hairstyle sure was popular.

    What a wonderful blessing - I think a specific blessing for you at that time. There is so much more that goes into being a "real" teacher than just explaining the ABCs...and your teacher truly had a teacher's heart and sensitive, sweet spirit. Such a nice story....

    So happy you joined us today - have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your commment. It is a joy and blessing to hear from you and your words are appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We
17 comments
Read more

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress.  When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some
Post a Comment
Read more

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.
Post a Comment
Read more