The Teacher

We all have had many teachers in our lives. Some of them in a formal setting, such as a classroom in school or college. Think of your favorite teachers you have had over the years....what was it about them that you liked? What made them a good teacher? What was it that made them have such an impact in your life?

But some, if not most of the teachers in our lives are not classroom teachers, so to speak. Rather, in more everyday settings, in our lives, and many times we may or may not even be aware that they are a teacher, or that we, are a teacher in their life.

I think of the patients in the hospital here. Here at the VA and over at the Stanford hospital just a few miles away, many medical residents, students, interns, and or people doing fellowships in their medical professions are here, learning and working. Yes, they may have their professors...but the real teachers...are the patients.

And there they are...unsuspecting...do they know they are also teachers? As I have visited many many patients, it is amazing what I learn from them. It is not just me, as a chaplain doing ministry...I am also learning from them.

Most recently, I am now facing a medical issue. I went to see the doctor. And there was a medical student, who saw me before the doctor. She was very kind...and I watched her brief the doctor, (my doctor, her professor) on my medical situation.

Later, as I was preparing to leave the doctor's office...I told her that I thought she would become a fine doctor someday.

I have taught dozens of classes as a teacher over the years, in colleges, at churches, with the government and military. I have been a teacher for many years.

But now as I walked out of the medical building, facing my unexpected medical situation....now ...I have joined the ranks of the many. It is a path I did not choose, teaching others...in this way.