Joy

RLL 79: Live B.I.G. (like Mrs. Hibbs) in 2020

Real Life Leading 79: Live B.I.G. in 2020

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During the Christmas season, my colleagues and I said goodbye to a dear friend, Mrs. Teresa Hibbs. She was a fellow teacher, a wonderful Godly woman, and a person who lived out the Gospel every day. At her funeral, I was privileged to hear our school’s administrator, Mrs. Greer, share about Mrs. Hibbs’ life. Yesterday at teacher in-service, I was blessed to hear another Mrs. Greer (daughter-in-law of the aforementioned Mrs. Greer) share again about Mrs. Hibbs. What both Mrs. Greers shared I’ve summarized here, as an encouragement and exhortation to all of us to live as Mrs. Hibbs lived: to live B.I.G. Mrs. Hibbs was a teacher for over 40 years at numerous schools, and the students she taught and influenced is numbered in the thousands. She was a football mom, a constant source of encouragement, and a woman who loved her family and friends fiercely.

As Mrs. Greer said, Mrs. Hibbs believed in other people, even when they didn’t believe in themselves. Students who were struggling, or whom other teachers had written off, found a place of comfort and hope with Mrs. Hibbs. She would challenge them and encourage them and ultimately believe in them so much that they couldn’t help but believe in themselves. It wasn’t that she didn’t hold them accountable; she very much did. In fact, perhaps my favorite story I heard about Mrs. Hibbs is one that I just learned of recently. Mrs. Hibb’s father had a physical disability requiring the use of a prosthetic arm and a hook in place of one hand. She often shared stories about him with her students, to help them see that difficulties can be overcome. And on the rare days that the students would continue to complain about their lot, she would surprise them by pulling the prosthesis and hook out of her desk drawer, placing it forcefully on her desk, and not-so-subtly reminding the students that they had much less to complain about than they thought! She believed in them, and in doing so, she showed them just how much they were capable of.

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Second, Mrs. Hibbs inspired her students to accomplish much more than they would have dreamt possible. This was seen in the many, many students who came to her in the midst of academic struggles. For much of her career, Mrs. Hibbs worked with these students, often with various cognitive diagnoses or IEPs that had caused the students to struggle and/or other teachers to write them off. But Mrs. Hibbs set about inspiring these students through her love, her compassion, and her accountability. She never allowed students to use their circumstances as an excuse for not giving the very best effort they could. On the contrary, because of her, many students were able to overcome their circumstances and perform at a higher level than ever before, because of the inspiration they got from her. Many of these students attended her funeral, and it was an amazing testimony to her life to see how many kids had similar experiences in her classroom. Mrs. Hibbs inspired them, and it changed their lives.

Finally, Mrs. Hibbs gave to her students. She gave them her time, her energy, her compassion, her love, her joy, and her hope. She gave them these things when they didn’t have much of it themselves. She was often found at school very early, playing her praise and worship music, and simply being available in case anyone needed to stop by and chat. She gave of her breaks, and her meal times, and her planning periods, to talk with students and just listen to what was going on in their lives. She gave of herself in ways that many students had never experienced from a teacher before, and as a result of that, they knew that she loved them. And this love was transformational for too many of them to count. Because Mrs. Hibbs gave, many others also learned to give.

If you didn’t have the privilege of meeting and knowing Mrs. Hibbs, you missed out on a wonderful woman and a true servant of others. If you did have the joy of knowing her, be thankful, remember her, and pay tribute to her memory by living as she did: live B.I.G. in this new year, and in every year after.

**Special thanks to Mrs. Cindy Greer and Mrs. Meredith Greer for sharing the above message. The acronym is not mine, nor are the stories, but any mistakes or omissions are entirely my fault.**

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RLL 57: Puppies and Pictures--Memories and Encouragement

RLL 57: Puppies and Pictures--A Bit of Encouragement

The pups and I slowing down in the evening

The pups and I slowing down in the evening

This week, like every week, was very busy: basketball practices, school work, preparing for finals, rehearsing and revising an upcoming presentation, and of course, putting up more Christmas decorations. However, this week also brought with it some unexpected encouragement through our dogs and in looking through old pictures of my daughters. In sharing these things in the blog this week, I want to help you be inspired and encouraged as well.

One night this week I found myself overwhelmed with work to do: essays to grade, revisions to make, other school work, all while what I really wanted to do was just spend time with my kids and wife. When I reached a stopping place in my work, I went at sat down on the floor with our pups, and well, you can see the result in that picture above. I was beat! It’s also been a very rain-filled couple of weeks where we live, and the dogs are normally pitiful because they’re scared. Then they get stir-crazy because they haven’t been able to be outside. This week, for some reason, they were hardly ever pitiful and crazy, and it made a giant difference because instead, they were great: snuggly, mostly calm, and always wanting to be where we were.

My older daughter and my first niece, both very excited about this birthday cake!

My older daughter and my first niece, both very excited about this birthday cake!

The other encouragement this week was that my daughter’s school asked for a toddler picture of her, so that meant my wife and I spent time looking through old pictures of the girls, and it was pure fun and joy! We saw such sweet pictures of the girls, from newborn pictures through early childhood, many of which I’d forgotten. I saw pictures of them playing and laughing, pictures of them sleeping and eating, and pictures of them just being kids.

These two bits of encouragement were just what I needed to help me through a difficult week, and so I wanted to do two things: one, to share them with you in hopes that they’d make you smile; and two, to ask you what encouraged you this week? A conversation? A photo? A memory? Christmas decorations? A conversation? Whatever it was, be sure to share it with someone else and give them a bit of encouragement as well.

Action Step: Consciously choose to try to encourage at least one person today by sharing something that has encouraged you!

RLL 48: My Best Friend's Wedding

Real Life Leading #48

My Best Friend’s Wedding

My best friend and me, goofing off and re-enacting a post from our younger days, before putting on our fancy clothes for the ceremony

My best friend and me, goofing off and re-enacting a post from our younger days, before putting on our fancy clothes for the ceremony

Yesterday I had the privilege of standing up with my best friend as he got married, and during the ceremony and reception, I was reminded of a few important things that I wanted to share. First, that marriage is all about love and respect, as best told by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs in his aptly titled book Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires, the Respect He Desperately Needs. Second, I was reminded of the privilege and joy and spending time with family and friends in celebration.

In Ephesians 5:22-33, after a discussion on the roles of spouses in marriage and about what love looks like, Paul ends by stating, “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” This verse is the key to Dr. Eggerichs’ book, and it provides a great reminder to all of us who are married; namely, that as husbands we are to love our wives sacrificially, giving up our own desires in order to serve, protect, and cherish them above ourselves. When seen this way, marriage is a reflection of the Gospel of Jesus, wherein Christ gave Himself up for his bride, the Church.

Yesterday’s ceremony was a wonderful reminder of what marriage is and the picture that it paints of how spouses are to reflect Christ’s love to each other in different ways. This is also a great reminder to us as leaders in general: we are to lead through service, through self-sacrifice, putting the needs of others above our own desires. When we lead this way, we honor Christ, and we also serve others out of love.

My sister and I with the groom at the reception!

My sister and I with the groom at the reception!

After the ceremony, the reception also provided an amazing reminder of just how much fun it is to celebrate an amazing occasion! We danced, we ate, we laughed, we took pictures with friends and family, and we it was all done as part of an encouraging send-off for the newly-married couple. What joy it is to be able to share in those celebrations! We saw our favorite teacher from elementary school, my sister and mom and stepdad all came in from different states, and we had a very encouraging afternoon sharing in the occasion. This is also a great reminder to us that life can be joyous, and we need to celebrate it whenever possible. Life is a beautiful gift, and when we have the chance to share in such joy, we should embrace it.

I hope your week has been as enjoyable as mine has, and I would love to hear about it!

Action Step: This week, ask how you can better serve the people around you, and remember to celebrate the successes—large and small—that you experience!