PLAYING FAVORITES

Pick any middle-age man or woman and he or she can tell you, within three seconds, who their favorite teachers were in high school. Funny enough, it isn't usually the one that was their favorite when they were actually IN high school either. Oh sure, at 16, we all loved the hip, with-it, cool cat of a teacher that let us call him by his first name, told us stories about his girlfriend or wife, and let it slide when we didn't do a stellar job on our final paper. No. I'm talking about that teacher who we realized, somewhere between our 30th and 50th birthday, had made an impact on our lives so strong that we still carry the lessons with us today. I was blessed with a few of those along the way.

One such teacher was Mr. Lesko. I was lucky. I had Mr. Lesko from junior high all the way up until my high school graduation. He was firm, but kind. Caring, but private. Funny and polite. We knew our boundaries with Mr. Lesko. He let us be ourselves, but encouraged us to become so much more. He valued education and valued our futures as well. I trusted Mr. Lesko. But the biggest life lesson I learned in his class didn't come out of a book. I remember sitting in his Bible class where he would remind us over and over again, "Don't ever take my word for it. Don't ever think because a pastor said it or a teacher said it or the president of the United States said it that it is true. Study it for yourself. Ask questions. Go, discover truth with your own inquisitive mind and spirit. Ask God to go with you and you'll never go wrong." That lesson changed my life. That lesson brought me closer to my Creator. That lesson gave me a relationship with truth that exists to this day. So, thank you, Mister Doctor Lesko! You, my beloved teacher, made a huge impact not only on my earthly future, but my spiritual one as well. In that simple lesson, you gave me an education that has sustained me, and will last me a lifetime. You are blessed... and highly favored!