Teachers and First Responders

The horrific weather events of this week have made me so thankful for teachers and first responders…

A teacher is that wonderful person who stoops down short to greet my scared little one, smiling sweetly and speaking in gentle, encouraging tones to coax my girl gently from that grip she has on my leg, into the classroom, so the world can unfold before her and all the possibilities of her potential be reached.

A first responder is that strong looking, yet gentle-souled man who exited my house on a cold Halloween night to inform my family that the carbon monoxide levels in our home are too high for us to sleep in our own beds, and when my daughter renews her tears for the loss of her beloved birds, Fred and Ethyl, he tenderly tells her that Fred and Ethyl saved our lives and that they probably loved us so much they were glad to do it.

Every day across the United States teachers go in to work, ready to take on the challenges of classrooms crowded with difficult children with difficult parents, with the keys that can unlock the future for those we each hold so dear.

First responders live with complete knowledge that they are called to take on the most dangerous situations in our communities, risking their own lives and the security of their families, to come to the aide of every single soul under their care.

These are the people we trust with our lives and livelihood. We place within their hands our well-being and our hope for a future…and all too often we take them for granted.

Teachers have a love for children, a passion for teaching and a heart ready to absorb all the hopes and dreams of our youth so they end up wanting what is right and good for our children just as much as we do—and sometimes even more.

First responders work long, arduous hours training and preparing for all the ‘what-ifs’ our unknown world might throw at them, only to realize when they arrive on the scene that nothing could prepare them for ‘this’…whatever ‘this’ might be on any given day…and, still, they rise to the challenge and take care of all situations, never pausing to grasp the enormity of whatever it is they find themselves in the midst of.

I cannot fathom what those moments of terror must have been like for those teachers leading their children to safety and then using their own bodies to shield and protect their charges from the destruction that raged all around them.

I pray I will never know the horror of arriving at a scene prepared to rescue and then having to transition into recovery…for any human being, let alone children. I’m not so certain I have the courage or strength to do that…I don’t want to know if I do.

This week I lift so many tear-filled, heart-felt prayers for teachers and first responders…in Oklahoma, in my community and throughout the world. May God's shalom grant them some measure of peace and comfort in this vocation to which they are called. 

Shalom,
Tracy