Unexpected Praise

 

I stopped by Jersey Mike’s for lunch on last Friday’s work day.

As I stood in line to wait for my sandwich,

I heard the manager say,

“You guys just rocked that. 

That was so good. 

I know it was a lot at once. 

But you did it. 

And you rocked it.

And everything looked beautiful. 

I’m so proud of you guys!”

 

I’ve had the privilege of working for cheerleaders for the past many years. 

I feel appreciated by my boss and 

I’m thankful to work for someone who sees what I do and expresses his gratefulness on a regular basis. 

 

But not everyone can say that. 

 

In fact, I imagine that most people can’t. 

 

I think that’s why the Jersey MIke’s manager’s words 

Meant so much to me. 

She was genuinely proud of her team, 

She knew they were discouraged, 

So she shared her encouragement through praise. 

And even though the teenagers that she was working with didn’t really acknowledge her speech,

I think it meant a lot to them. 

How could it not? 

They had been seen and their time and efforts had been valued. 

And, after all, isn’t that what most of us deeply desire?

 

May this be a reminder that 

Words are powerful

And that sometimes they affect even the people they aren’t meant to reach.

 

May we use our words to build up and encourage

And when we see something good,

May we hold it in light and 

Celebrate the people involved in the goodness,

Especially when they may not often hear words of encouragement and praise. 

 

Amen. 

Words Have Power

Earlier in the week, at the bottom of a work-related e-mail exchange, I had a colleague write: “Thanks for all you do. I see all your hard work!” Such a simple statement…but those words have passed through my mind a gazillion times since reading them. “I see all your hard work.” There’s something to being seen. Not glazed over. Not overlooked. But seen. Paid attention to. Valued. In a work environment where I literally don’t see anyone other than my team of five—and that’s if I’m lucky—being seen is a challenge. And yet, this colleague sees me. And my hard work. And I have been working so very hard (as has the entire Teacher Body of the 2020-2021 School Year). Friends—I have said this time and time again, but I will say it again: Words have power. Even to those who don’t claim Words of Affirmation as their primary love language, words are transformational. Specific. True. Intentional words can literally change someone’s life… I have an encouragement folder in my e-mail. It’s full of messages that have encouraged me over the years. My colleague’s message is now in that folder. Friends: May we be writers of messages that make it into one another’s encouragement folders. Amen.

Grocery Store Stickers

I received a surprise piece of mail yesterday.

A couple of weeks ago, I was the caller for my school’s virtual Battle of the Books. The local newspaper wrote an article about the event, so I was in the newspaper.

I hadn’t seen the article. In fact, I’d forgotten that it existed.

Then mail arrived in my mail box.

It was a very nice handwritten note, along with the article from the paper…sealed with stickers from the grocery store! 😊

The whole thing made me smile…

And it made me wonder: When is the last time I went out of my way to send someone, literally or figuratively, a smile?

As I looked at the letter, I could imagine my friend ever so carefully removing her produce stickers so that they could be used on my letter. The intention of her action made me feel cared for and also gave homage to my friend’s sense of humor…

May we be a people who do not waste produce stickers—who reuse them in ways that make people smile.

May we send cards, write letters, compose positive comments, make phone calls, wear fun masks, offer eye smiles under our masks, visit when it’s safe, and act upon our positive thoughts of others in any other ways we can think.

May we be a people of love, especially in these days when love, respect, and belonging are so needed and overdue.

May love be our light and our guide. Always. Amen.

Words of Affirmation

I had a performance with my Kindergarten and 1st grade students on Monday night. 110 students showed up to sing and dance for their “teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, next door neighbors, and friends,” and I was very proud of them. They’d been working hard to share their learning, and in the moment of truth, they showed up.

After the performance, I was exhausted. I went home and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I always feel vulnerable after performances—wondering if what I did was “good enough,” fearing that it wasn’t, preparing for complaints, secretly longing for compliments and words of affirmation…

As I stood in the car rider line on Tuesday afternoon, a grandfather rolled down his window and asked if I was the music teacher. I said that I was. He then told me how wonderful the program had been the night before. I almost cried.

Then I received an e-mail from a parent that did made me cry:

“Hello! I just wanted to say congratulations on a job well done last night! You made everything look so easy from beginning to end! So many people were so impressed at how well the kids knew their songs. I can speak for all the kindergarten teachers when I say that we love how you find ways to incorporate our learning objectives into your music!

I kept trying to figure out how my daughter knew how to skip count by 2’s. Her teacher told me they haven’t focused real hard on that yet. Now I know it was YOU! She has figured out, on her own, how to count by 2’s to 100! And... even though she tortures my soul with the non-stop skip counting...(every time we get in the car to go somewhere🤪), both me and my husband are so glad she so fortunate to have such a fun and amazing music teacher!!!”

Teachers put a lot of effort and intention into what we teach. We log many long hours at work and then log many more at home. I am somewhat fortunate to work in a performance field where my work can easily be commended and applauded, but classroom teachers often are not given the accolades they deserve. Many teachers often only hear criticism—and wonder if they are good enough, fearing that they aren’t, while secretly longing for compliments and words of affirmation.

If you know a teacher, consider sending him/her some accolades today—especially if you are a parent of a school-aged kid. It’s not teacher appreciation week. It’s nothing special that I know of. It’s just a Thursday…but I have a feeling that it’s a good day for affirmation.

Helen's Courage

A few years ago, as I was trying to decide whether or not to go swimming at camp, I had the following conversation with a friend: Me: “I don’t always like to go swimming because I can’t see when I take off my glasses.” Friend: “Me either. And when I take my hearing aid out, you might as well call me Helen Keller.” So I did :-). I called her Helen for the rest of the summer and jokingly bought her a copy of “The Story of My Life” by Helen Keller. Surprisingly, she read the book! And she told me that it was a good read.

Fast forward to a few Sundays ago…Patrick was preaching a sermon in which he mentioned Jesus’ ability to move persons from darkness to light—to set persons free from bondage—to give voice to the voiceless. As his example to set up the idea, Patrick shared a bit of Helen Keller’s story—how she, though deaf and blind, was literally given a voice when she learned to read and write. Remembering the simple story from above and feeling totally fascinated by the notion of someone moving from darkness to light, I ordered “The Story of My Life” for myself.

In the week since I began listening to the book, I have watched YouTube videos of Helen’s life, mentioned her in more conversations than should be normal, and been absolutely amazed at her story—her insight, wisdom, intelligence, determination, gratitude, generous spirit, charity, writing, humility, positive attitude, and courage. Other than Jesus, Helen Keller has become the historical figure whom I’d most like to meet should time travel be possible, and her life has moved into a place of inspiration that is not finished inspiring.

It takes courage to set your mind to something at which you could easily fail. It takes courage to open your heart to things that could easily hurt you. It takes courage to face your fears.

For Helen, it took courage to set her mind to learning to sing and speak when she had no point of reference for sound. It took courage to decide to graduate from college when a college degree required taking classes in Greek, Hebrew, French, and German—when English didn’t even come naturally.

For others, it takes courage to:
apologize for speaking hurtful words;
leave a toxic, unhealthy relationship;
do the hard work of facing inner demons;
slowly open and create more space for life;
get out of bed each day;
stay sober;
get married;
have a baby.

I’ve witnessed a lot of courage recently.

I think Helen would be proud.

…

Courage: A Poem
Always know, dear friend, that God’s love and peace are real.
When you don’t have the courage to let go or the stamina to try,
rest in the certainty of God’s strength,
open yourself to the beauty of possibility,
trust in the promise of God’s amazing grace, and
remember that my love for you is real, too.

There Is So Much

I’ve been thinking about a school-year prayer guide for a couple of weeks now, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there is so much to pray that I’m just going to make a guiding list of nouns and see what details come as I pray each day. I encourage you to do the same.

Below is the weekly list:

Monday: Classroom Teachers, Enhancement Teachers, Assistants, Specialists, and Coaches.
Tuesday: Students.
Wednesday: Bus Drivers and Office, Custodial, Cafeteria, and Other Support Staffs.
Thursday: School Administrators and District Superintendents and Staff.
Friday: Parents, Guardians, and Families.
Saturday: City, County, State, and National Legislatures and Lawmakers.
Sunday: Church, Denominational, and Business Partners.

Specifically today, I stand in awe of and pray for teachers and school personnel who are also parents—especially those who are parents of children living at home. For their dedication to their students during the day, I am grateful. For their unwavering love for their children at night, I am humbled. For packing lunches or providing lunch money—for cooking supper and cleaning house—for washing clothes and driving a taxi—for sitting through practices and cheering at games—for coordinating family schedules more complicated than battle plans…I am amazed at the determination that I see in teachers and school personnel to not only be great teachers but to also, and more importantly, be great parents as well.

Tonight, I pray for strength and rest for those teacher parents; for courage and encouragement; for creativity and discernment; for multiplied time to do it all.

Tonight, I think, also, of a poem that I wrote a few years ago but recently updated:

Declaration of the Swagger Wagon Chauffeur
1/23/05; updated 9/18/13

Yes, one calls me wife,
But wife is not my name.
I love, I support, I walk beside—
But wife is not all of who I am.

Yes, four call me mom,
But mom is not my name.
I give care, I tend house, I drive a dirty mini-van—
But mom is not all of who I am.

Yes, some call me teacher,
But teacher is not my name.
I teach, I play, I line-lead,
But teacher is not all of who I am.

And, yes, some call me friend,
But friend is not my name.
I spend time, I listen, I laugh and joke—
But friend is not all of who I am.

All parts make the whole:
The sum is who I am.
I am a person who has journeyed long—
I am who I am.

Thank you, readers—especially those of you who are teachers—for being YOU.

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If you’d like a printable copy of this prayer guide, then just comment here and I’ll send you a file.