Blessings!
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God had a grand plan for my life as I was growing up on Anguilla, a tiny Caribbean island with limited job opportunities. At age nine, I decided to be a teacher.
When I was in my last year of high school, I reassessed my plan to be a teacher and finalized my decision. After I completed in-service training and taught for two years, the government sent me to Teachers’ Training College (now known as the Division of Teacher Education) on Saint Vincent, West Indies, for two years. I returned home and taught for three years, after which my husband and I migrated to Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands.
We both acquired employment at our church school as primary/elementary teachers. My husband served for thirty-one years in various capacities.
I served for thirty-eight years teaching six, seven, and nine-year-old students. For my final ten years, I served as the K–12 school librarian.
I retired after forty-five memorable years as an educator.
It is with a deep sense of joy that I seize the opportunity to take a close look at the decades I spent molding and nurturing the minds of the young children God entrusted to my care. What a significant responsibility! My career as an educator has been truly rewarding. We owe so much to our teachers who sacrificed so much for us.
They definitely played an integral role in shaping who we have become.
As I reminisce on my years as an educator, I am truly grateful to God for all the blessings I received and for being a blessing to so many students, parents, and coworkers.
Many of my students have positioned themselves in a variety of productive careers, for which I am truly appreciative. It is such an exhilarating feeling when my students stay in touch to let me know of their achievements and to say, “Thank you.” Dear God, thank You for allowing me to have a part in nurturing your little lambs and for all that I have learned as I ministered to them. May they shine for You at every opportunity that presents itself to them.
Janice Fleming-Williams
