Ask most adults about their favorite teacher, and they’ll tell you Mrs. Wilson in fourth grade helped them believe in themselves, or Mr. Lincoln in 10th grade history developed their skills as a writer, which led to a fulfilling career later in life.

This year, teachers have had to think outside the classroom in ways they couldn’t have imagined when the school year began. The last few months of school looked very different than what any of us expected, thanks to the coronavirus.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 says, "Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other."

These last few months, teachers have hosted online learning sessions for kids as young as Kindergarten, walked parents and students through endless web-based learning platforms, held neighborhood parades and checked in via text, email, and drive-by visits with weary parents and anxious children.

They’ve stepped up in ways big and small, and done their best to teach fractions and comfort fears, to deliver school lunches to families in need, and kids and parents keep going during uncertain times.

God bless our teachers. We already knew we loved them, but perhaps we didn’t realize just how much we needed them!

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the talented teachers and other school professionals who mold and shape the minds of children and young adults in this country. They have risen to meet the challenge of students learning from home, and they are a blessing to families, and entire communities. Keep them safe, and help them to know how very loved they are by you, and by the people whose lives they touch. Amen.