In the spirit of gratefulness and encouragement, and in honor of her recent Faith & Learning Award, I pass along my appreciation to Arden Post for her kindhearted “contagious-passion” and endearing, hospitable ways.

I often have reflected how wonderful it was to be invited into her home. While she wasn’t the only professor of mine to do so, she was the first. She blessed me and made an impression.

While I didn’t become a professional certified teacher, I did enter a profession relying heavily on the ability to teach. While I did seriously consider education as a profession, I majored in biology, decided on pre-medicine studies, and eventually pursued a master’s in physical therapy and became a physical therapist.

Interestingly, my husband, Larry ’90, and I have homeschooled all six of our kids. When did I think teaching wasn’t for me? Additionally, leading in our children’s program at church, I’ve relied on wisdom gained through her (and others like her) that God has faithfully placed in my path. It makes me smile.

That’s my point: for us to praise God for how he has blessed us by weaving us together in ways we don’t clearly see or often appreciate, ways bigger and more unimaginable than we could even conceive.

So, I humbly speak up with a tiny voice from the back seat of a class held long ago: Thank you for your life’s work. May God continue to bless you richly!

— Julie Geels Koornneef ’89
Lakewood, Colo.