A Simple Thank You

It goes without saying that teaching is a rewarding profession, but you don't always see the fruits of your labor until years later, if at all, especially in middle school. I not only have the chance to educate middle schoolers, but working in a Christian school has allowed me to be a part of their spiritual growth and development as well, and seeing the fruit of that is the most precious reward I could get.
In middle school, kids are generally self-centered and self-conscious creatures. Thank you isn't a word on most of their lips. It's not that they aren't thankful, it just doesn't occur to them to share it. When I got back from lunch today, I found a folded piece of paper on my desk with my name on it. As I opened it and read it, I almost wept as words like "you mean a lot to me" and "thank you for what you do" and "I can see God in you" leaped off the page at me. It made me grateful that I got to see a little piece of fruit at a time in the school year when most kids have checked out. The note was based on a very little thing I did last week to help a student. I had no idea it would mean so much- I just did what I would have wanted done to me. This note, along with others I've collected over the years, will go into my "special" folder. It is encouraging to receive little notes like this, but equally encouraging to pull these types of notes out years later and remember the precious lives I got to be a part of. Thank you Lord for the gift of an encouraging student today!