“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV

I often wonder if anything I do at work really matters. I invest in students, some for four years, but then they leave.

I know parents do the same thing, but it’s a bit different as a teacher.

Because I invest in students, they leave, and I get new students. I invest in them, they leave, and I get more new students.

It’s the educational circle of life.

So, I  rarely know if they took anything valuable from my classes or from the years they spent with me.

But last weekend I caught a glimmer of hope.

I was on an overnight field trip for work (I haven’t done this since 2019, and those felt like the longest two days of my life).

As I was herding students back to our bus after seeing a show, I did a double-take as I spotted a former student herding her students to their bus after seeing the same show. Yes, she’s now a choir director and was with her students on her first overnight trip as a teacher. She still had that youthful look of excitement in her eyes, while I was just thankful my eyes were open enough for me not to trip on the sidewalk. 

She grabbed me in a hug and introduced me to her students. We didn’t get a chance to speak much then, but we texted as we headed to our respective hotels.

The next morning I received a text from another former student telling me she’d be at our performance that day. I got another big hug and heard all about what she was up to and how well she was doing since high school.

I guess you never know the impact you have on people.

You’re having a bigger, more lasting impact than you’re aware of.

So how do you want to be remembered?

I know students don’t remember the majority of the content I teach them, but they do remember how I treated them and how I loved them as my students, even when they drove me crazy, and even when they did some really stupid things (they thought I wouldn’t find out and they were always wrong).

And if I want to be remembered as someone who showed love, then I need to continue being a person of love, even on my grumpy days (which also happened on the field trip, but then again, nothing good happens after midnight, especially with 68 high schoolers.)

If I act in love, then I’ll be remembered in love.

And I want to be remembered in love.

How have you seen your love acknowledged through the actions of others?

“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV