You are probably wondering who is Miss Vasso and why is she a blog entry.
Let me just tell you then. I could have titled my entry, "Greatest Life Influences", or "I found Her".
Miss Sheryl Vasso was one of my elementary teachers. That is the simply put definition.
Miss Sheryl Vasso was one of the greatest influences in my life and one of the most beautiful persons I knew.
A few years back I had this great sentimental desire to reconnect with my past. I find that living 10 hours away from the area I grew up causes that emotion to stir within me quite often.
I found that as I looked back over my life, she came up in my thoughts almost immediately.
She was a teachers teacher. She was smart, beautiful, and loving. She was so good at what she did that I can sit here and say that I was her favorite student. The thing is I bet all of her students would say the same thing. That is just how she was. She made everyone feel special.
She hugged me! That spoke volumes to me as a young child!
She was the one who caused me to start thinking that I would one day like to be a teacher like her.
Well, Friday night I found her!! I sat at my computer, cried and shook all over as I tried to type out my feeble words of thanks to her. She has her doctorate now...I told you she was smart!!
I found her in Germany finishing up teaching some graduate classes, then headed to Thailand to do the same. She also replied to me from a cable car headed up the Alps.
Guess what? She remembered me!!! (I told you I was her favorite - haha)
Why did I tell you all of this? One reason was to encourage you to seek out and find that person that had a great influence of you and tell them thank you. The other reason is to remember that,whether you realize it or not, you are having an influence on others.
Will someone almost 30 years later seek you out and tell you thank you just for being you and showing them love.
Tell me your story of someone who influenced you. My greatest desire is to influence other ladies and children to know Christ!.
Miss Vasso...thank you and I love you!
3 comments:
I can't say that a teacher was the greatest influence in my life; however, many of the women who have influenced me have been the wives of my Pastors. The church I was discipled in has many precious memories and many growing experiences. After pursuing my educational goals, entering adulthood, becoming a parent, being involved in lay ministry, 10 years ago, I made it a point to reconnect with my first pastor's wife, Marcella. She is now in her 80s and still a servant of God. For the last 10 years we have communicated, visited, prayed together, cried together and laughed together. She is a definite woman of influence in my life to keep the faith and let Jesus shine thru me!
I have many who had a profound influence on me, but I'll just share one. When I was in the 6th-8th grade, mine and another family in the church was very close. We all worked on a bus route together. I would often go visiting with the man (Johnny Manuel) , his son, and my friend Casey. I honestly believe that Johnny was God's wonderful gift to me at that time in my life. I was so painfully shy and struggled with all the issues of insecurity you can imagine. This man taught me how to express to people my appreciation (I was so shy I had a hard time just saying thank you), he taught me how to take compliments, he taught me that I was special in God's eyes, he taught me how to have conversations with people. Oh, how I am indebted to him!! I've since told him, written him and done everything I can to let him know that I would not be the same without him. Praise to our wonderful God who blesses us with His special children and uses them to teach us about ourselves and about Him!!!
"Dr. Vasso!"
Hi Deanna! Great comments on Dr. Vasso! Like what you said she's smart that's why she's now Dr. Sheryl Vasso, we call her Dr. V.! It is only her title that changed but never her heart to and for everyone she meets and gets along with! She's indeed a great influence! Right after you hugged her in Germany she was in our arms in Thailand. I was one of her students there and I was indeed waiting to see her in person because every student she has in our class, speaks wonderful things about her! Like how you feel, I also feel that I am her favorite. HA! Which I know everybody in her class believes so.... I was truly encouraged by how you express your self about her! Like you do, we love her! I love her! I will always be grateful to God for Dr. Sheryl Vasso!
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