Last weekend we traveled back to PA to celebrate an amazing woman! She has been teaching preschool for 25 years and has decided to retire. Linda Whitling is incredible! When I say she ALWAYS has a smile on her face I mean ALWAYS. She once said to me "I just want to be used as a vessel. Use me as a vessel, Lord". She has been such a vessel that I'm not sure her vessel would fit in the Atlantic Ocean. When I had Rori, one of the disappointing things was that she would not be a little lamb or a shining star.
I don't know that I've ever heard Mrs. Whitling refer to her students as "students". They have always been her little "friends". She is as close to a celebrity as you can get in Clarion. She exudes happiness and sunshine!
The evening was a surprise for Mrs. Whitling (or Mrs. Whitwing as she's known by from her "friends"). She was incredibly surprised and kept saying she didn't deserve this. The 250 people there definitely disagreed with her.
Preschool is the first structured school that little ones have. Mrs. Whitling showed the love of Christ to each and everyone of her little "friends" for 25 years. She also showed Christ's love to the parents. I cannot say how grateful I am for her. She made a huge impact on my life. I believe God put Linda in my path to help me develop a relationship with Him.
Mrs. Whitling's place marker. I think the tissues were aptly placed
the children waiting for Mrs. Whitling to arrive
her reaction once she realized something was up
turning back to get confirmation
and then she was overwhelmed
it wasn't long until she was back to that smiling face & waving to her little friends
a snapshot of Linda and her friends
The kids then sang some old favorites with Mr. Doug
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