Thoughts from Church

Kim's talk made me tear up today. I don't usually get teary-eyed in Sacrament meeting (Primary is a whole 'nother story), but today I did. Let's back up about 18 years. . .

When I was eleven and had lived in Jesup for about 6 months to a year, Kim Deloach became my Merrie Miss teacher. We met in the classroom in the hallway - what is now the Family History Library, was the nursery for awhile. Other girls in our class were Melody Higginbotham, Angie Woods, Lisa Moore, and Maria Crosby (I think). I don't remember much about our Sunday lessons, other than being in that room, and us asking her about when she was going to have kids, or why she didn't have kids or what not. That was my first-ever lesson on infertility. . .but . . .I regress. Anyway - she was my teacher. She started me then in journal writing. She gave me a journal at some point. Christmas? End of the school year? I don't remember. But I still have it. It's blue. . the cover is a water-color painting of a girl/young woman/lady walking through a garden or something. It's filled with the thoughts of a 12ish girl. I remember we went to take gifts to . . .someone in her car. I sat in front and got my first lessons on driving a stick. She let me shift - told me when to and how to. I think we also once surprised her at her house with cake and such for some reason. Her birthday? I don't remember. But - I loved her.

I moved up to Young Women, and it seems that Kim was released from her Merrie Miss calling, as well. I remember a week or so before my freshman year of high school how EXCITED I was when she was appointed to be my Seminary teacher! For three years she taught me (and others) Seminary -first Book of Mormon, then Old Testament, then New Testament. She gave me more journals as gifts. She gave me my first EFY CD. She wrote me extremely nice cards in which she told me she hoped to one day have a daughter. Just. Like. Me. I cried.

My Senior year, she was not my teacher. It was OK, but not the same. I graduated, moved on to college. A few years into college, I found out that she and her husband were able to adopt a little baby boy. I was SOOO happy for her.

During college and after in the Columbus Stake, I of course had callings. I was the Ward Music Chairman once (Shenandoah Ward), a Primary teacher once (Edgewood Ward), a Gospel Doctrine teacher once (Phenix City Ward), the Primary Chorister LOTs of times (Edgewood, Weracoba, Phenix City Wards), the second counselor in the Primary Presidency (Phenix City) and I didn't really think about Jesup and what I learned there much at all.

In 2005, I moved back to Jesup. I was immediately called as Primary Chorister (what else is new? :) and Kim was the Primary President. It was nice/different serving with her, rather than just being her student. I was also the Seminary teacher my first two years back in Jesup. The parallels were not lost on me, but at the same time, I didn't really let it sink in.

Today - May 24, 2009 - I have been the Primary President for a year. Kim is one of "my" Primary teachers. She is MY SON's Primary teacher. Ok. I'm tearing up again. :)

Kim was asked to base her talk on an article in the Friend.

During her talk, she said that "Megan" had been trying really hard to encourage the kids in Primary to read the scriptures everyday - and how we have an individual chart for each kid to mark when they've read. She said that combined with the topic the bishop had given her motivated her to start again with Jordan reading everyday. She also told a story she had already told me earlier about SHY Jordan getting up in his 3rd grade classroom and singing "Follow the Prophet" for his class. She expressed appreciation for "Megan" working so hard to teach the kids in Primary. This is the point at which I started to tear up and it hit me just how much SHE had done for me to contribute to me being able/willing/etc to teach the kids.

When Sacrament meeting was over and we were in the Primary room, I hugged her and thanked her for all she had done for me. . .and she thanked me for teaching her son to sing.