Make the most of every opportunity

 
Bailey Burtron
Iiaonna Green



   First let me say I love teaching.  It is my God-given gift, calling and passion.  Before I retired from the Navy I was tested by a company that does retirement accounts for military personnel.   What was the result?   I am great at teaching and sharing information, but I can't push a client to close the deal.  So where is this going?
     My philosophy of teaching is that people don't care what you know until they know that you care.  Thus I spend a lot of time building relationships and investing in my students.  As I have written before, building relationships with my students involves three things:
                       
                        -Valuing them
                        -Valuing their time
                        -Valuing what they value.

A student graduating is me seeing the return on my investment of time and building the relationship.  So where is this going?
     I will bury my second and third students this week in as many months.  Meagan died from injuries sustained in a car wreck.  Iiaonna (18) and Bailey (16) were murdered by Bailey's step father last week.  Iaonna was 18 and a had graduated from high school.  Bailey was a freshman in high school.
     We often hear parents say that they should never have to bury their children.   By extension, teachers should never have to bury their students.  I have buried 7 students and two fellow teachers during my 13 years of teaching.   I am reminded of 1 Peter: 3:15:

 "15  but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16  having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."

Some versions render the phrase "always being prepared" as "taking every opportunity."  As much time as I believe I have invested in my students, I continually ask myself and reflect on whether I have taken "every opportunity."  When the teachers and students and parent were discussing Bailey's candlelight observance, the question was asked as to what her favorite Bible verse was.  I began to think back on whether she and I had ever discussed what she believed, or if she had a favorite Bible verse.  Did I ever share with her the reason for the hope that is in me?   You might say I lived a Christian life as a witness to her.  However, this thought takes me to another passage of Scripture:

Romans 10:14  "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"

     I am not beating myself up over whether I shared the Gospel with them.  I did.  However, their deaths cause me to reflect on the time I invested in a relationship with them and whether I made the most of the opportunities I had to talk with them. It is so true that our life is but a vapor.

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