My 1:1000

You just don't know how your life will impact others. She started her teaching career in 1973, a career that would span 45 years. During that almost half a century of teaching, she probably had 1,000 or more students. Who was I, a little girl in her 2nd class ever, a little girl in the 3rd grade, to think that I would be 1:1000? Who was I to think that she might remember me 10, 20, even 44 years later?

I was in awe of her. I can't tell you exactly why, but she became my favorite teacher, the one whose name I always use when asked that "secret" question. Maybe it was because she was beautiful and I was drawn to her loving and kind face. Maybe it was because her husband would come visit and I thought he was so handsome. Maybe it was because she inspired me to be better, to strive for excellence. Perhaps the times she allowed me to "help" her by grading spelling tests or marking papers, influenced me to teach someday, or maybe it just made me feel connected to her. Perhaps it was the way she handled the death of our classmate, Bobbi's, mother, gently explaining to us what Bobbi might be like when she came back, how we might most help her, and assuring us that we did not need to be afraid.

I don't know if she remembers any of this. If she does, I'm in awe again. If she remembers the details from her 1974-75 class like I do, then she is truly the special teacher I thought she was then, and still admire today. But, I know she doesn't remember this - because I never told her. I took her school picture and placed it in my little wallet where I could see it any time I wanted. You see, in the Spring of 1975, my world was changing. My father was contemplating taking another pastorate and moving our family out of Kansas City. My brother and I were not happy; we were scared. We did not want to leave our home, our school, and our friends. I kept her picture close because I believed then, as I do now, that she really loved me and that she wanted the best for me. During the summer after 3rd grade, as we waited in a cabin in Colorado for the decision of a new congregation, I pulled out her picture over and over, and I cried because I would never have another chance to see her again (or so I thought). I cried because the teacher who had made the most impact on my life to that point was now a piece of my history. But, her smiling face was there comforting me, even as I moved. She became the standard by which every other teacher in my life was measured. No one ever quite reached her place in my heart, and she remains to this day, my favorite teacher.

Why today? Because what grade school teacher do you know, in a large city, with many other children to love and pour into, shows up at your wedding 10 years later? And of all the people who attended our celebration that day, who should the photographer get a candid picture of going through the food line but her? A memory seared in my heart forever. She still cared; she still wanted the best for me. Her belief in me never wavered, even though I was only 1:1000.

The miracle of Facebook is that after all these years, I can still see her smiling face. I can still visit with her - or not - and that's ok. She remains a constant in my life, and she probably never even knew that she was my constant in the first place. I still have that little school picture of her. It no longer sits in my wallet or hangs on my bulletin board as it did when I was growing up, but it's always where I can find it. And it always reminds me that you never know how your life will impact others.

Live well. Invest in children. Give freely of your love and patience and guidance. Who knows who is watching you and gaining strength from you? Who knows whose life you will impact? Thank you, Sheila Cohenour - you are my 1:1000.