Teachers

A couple weekends ago, I took a trip back home to Gig Harbor to spend some quality time with my brother, Alec. A special bonus of my trip was visiting my mom’s 5th and 6th grade classroom.

I walked into her school and gave my driver’s license and other information to a kind receptionist. Another teacher joined the receptionist in performing my background check when I mentioned I was Tiffany’s son, visiting her class. They both lit up and immediately, almost talking over each other, began bragging about how thankful they are for my mom’s huge impact on the lives of these many sweet students.

Talk to Tiffany Moore for five minutes and you’ll leave feeling noticed, heard, and loved in a special, Jesus sort of way. I noticed that several of my mom’s students are firecrackers though–just super tough young people to work with. But the way she talks to them or talks about them is redemptive, hopeful, and beautiful. I’ve always been really impressed with people who work in schools, but watching my mom do her thing brought the challenge and reward to life for me. Today, an educator’s required amount of patience, knowledge, determination, and love is through the roof.

As someone who spends hardly any time in schools these days, it was eerie walking the halls thinking about the heartbreaking and senseless Parkland school-shooting just a couple days prior. On top of that, I hear stories from Nina and friends who work in schools, of how challenging it is to reach students in an age of Snapchat and low attention-spans.

When I sat down to write a blog for my church, I honestly wanted to uncover some super profound scripture or something truly earth-shattering to share. But God wanted me to dwell on profundity in a different way. My mom, Nina, Juliann, Stephanie, Corey, Cassie, Quint, Emily, Taylor, and many others in our church who work in the schools are, to me, the most profound heroes of our time.

Thank you for being such a beautiful example of what it looks like to carry the peace of Christ into your workplace, even in the aftermath of such a dark event.

Join me in encouraging and praying for our sisters and brothers who spend every day pouring into and educating young people!