I always loved the start of the school year when I could get organized without the clutter of student work. For me it felt like a clean slate. A well organized and decorated classroom can go a long way with helping create a good learning environment. Most of us pin hundreds of ideas on Pinterest, which we usually spend our own money on. Bright colors, theme ideas, maybe a flow and motif to suit our subjects and grade level just to name a few. Colored coded baskets with a living room feel that give a soft, homey style were some of my favorites. A carpet, maybe a lamp. (Do I even need to describe further?)   A classroom becomes an extension of who we are as a teacher.

For me, the summer of 2016 was the most organized my classroom had ever been. That is until the flood. Many of us lost our beloved memories and treasured keepsakes that summer. It would forever mark us as a community, a town and as a state. It has been said that “You don’t know what you’ve got until its gone.” That was certainly true for those of us who lost our school.

For one teacher in particular, the loss of a keepsake became all too real. In an ordinary social studies class, amid everyday social studies posters and inspirational quotes, a simple silhouette of a boy and a girl glued onto yellow paper hung on the wall beside her desk. To MaryBeth Cook ,organization and décor were extremely important, but a simple silhouette which had nothing to do with Social Studies became the most important piece in her room. A place to reflect and pray for each situation she might face in her educational day.

“Mrs. Cook? What happened to your picture of the boy and girl?” a 6^th grade student asked the teacher one day.

“Oh, you mean my prayer spot? It got washed away by the flood,” she replied with a wave of the hand.

“Why did you call it your prayer spot?” the student probed.

“Well,” Mrs. Cook began. “I call it my prayer spot because it reminds me to keep my heart focused on the child and not just their behavior. When I look at it, I ask myself, ‘If this were my child, how would I treat them?’ and each time I look at the picture, I take a second to pray for the student I’m talking with.”

“Oh, ok,” the student shrugged.

Now water damaged, the picture was left behind as the school once teaming with life was reduced to a grassy field as if it had never existed.

The student went on with her day, and Mrs. Cook went on with hers. Little did Marybeth Cook know that this would not be the last of the conversation.

One ordinary day, in an ordinary classroom, on an ordinary and well-organized desk, lay a simple silhouette of a boy, and a girl. Knowing exactly what to do with these, Mrs. Cook glued them on yellow paper and placed them on the wall next to her desk in her new classroom. The prayer spot was now reopened. Though the flood destroyed a valued treasure, it couldn’t destroy what was in Mrs. Cook’s heart or her “prayer spot”.

You see, dear teachers, no matter where or what situation we find ourselves to be in, we can always find a spot to pray. If it’s in your room, on the bus, or in the lunch duty. When we are driving home, and we are so exhausted that we can’t think, or when we are in a parent meeting, we can always find a spot to pray. No matter what time of day, no matter where we are, there’s always a prayer spot that we carry with us everywhere we go.

While I learned much from Mrs. Cook in my time collaborating with her, one of the greatest was the perspective of the mother. If I view each child as my own and make each decision as if they were my child, I will always come from a place of love. The truth is, no matter what the behavior, each student is someone’s child. Mrs. Cook left a legacy for the one who would take her place. In an ordinary classroom, and on any ordinary day, you can find Mrs. Cook’s “prayer spot” still hanging on the wall. Education may have been through the flood, but we still have a “prayer spot” we can go to.

To all the “MaryBeth Cooks” out there, who fight for their students as their own… to every teacher who perseveres with patience and love for children who are not their own, thank you. Thank you for your daily sacrifice to put your students’ needs above your own.

Happy Mother’s Day to each and every teacher mom!  Your service is not overlooked.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:2