A Lady, not a Woman

We lost a dear church family member unexpectedly. Lillian Marsh went to sleep on the evening of November eleven right next to Al, her husband of 69 years. But on the next morning she woke up in heaven.

I saw her on the previous Sunday morning just before Sunday School. As usual she walked into the social hall with a gentle and warm smile with twinkles in her eyes. She was impeccably dressed as always. Lillian gave me a hug, and then walked over to her usual seat.

Exactly seven days later at the same spot where I greeted Lillian for so many times, Mable Miller said, “I can’t believe Lillian is not going to be here today. I couldn’t go to sleep last night, just thinking about her. She was a lady, not a woman. In heaven, I wonder if there are different seats for ladies. She was a really lady.” At her funeral, people were celebrating her life. Again, people said of Lillian “she was a real lady” and “she was a grand lady”. That label seems to be the best descriptor of her person. I was curious what would be the dictionary definition for the word "lady", so I looked it up and found:

1. a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken
2. a woman of high social position or economic class:
3. any woman; female (sometimes used in combination):

When Mabel used the word “lady” to describe Lillian, I’m sure she meant meaning number one. I’d like to add to the list of lady-like qualities. Beyond “refined, polite and well-spoken”, Lillian demonstrated: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” According to the Apostle Paul, these are the fruit of the Spirit [Galatians 5:22-23]. Lillian was a lady for sure, but surely she was a godly lady.

Learning is a party

I gave an assignment in my class: students create a podcast(or a vodcast) to illustrate the concept connected learning. I learned that when I step aside, then my students become more creative, and they learn much more than I could teach them with direct instruction.

Enjoy vodcasts:
The Knights of Connectivism
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