About a week ago my two older sisters and I had the privilege of visiting a special lady.  She is loved by many as a teacher and a Christian lady from home in Fannin County, Georgia.

As a Little Girl

In elementary school, I was amazed by the fact that Mrs. Buttram taught Mom and Aunt Annan during her first year of teaching. Mrs. Buttram was also our neighbor. Mom would send me down to her house to fetch a cup of sugar or flour when baking. I would run through my yard and stop at the huge retaining wall that formed a barrier between two yards. With all my might and courage, I would talk myself into jumping off the wall, taking the shortcut to her house.  Greeting me at the door, I always noticed her sweet voice and smile.

Several years later we had moved from right above her house, down the hill on the other side of her. Riding my bike to the end of the road, I would often meet her, after she had worked the long hours as a teacher. She always waved and rolled down her window for a friendly little conversation.

Now a Teacher for Me

As a junior in high school, I was both excited and a little nervous when I saw Mrs. Buttram’s name on my schedule. What if I did not live up to her expectations? Of course that wasn’t the first time I had been nervous about having a teacher. With two older sisters, it was always a little difficult to walk in their footsteps. As the passed, I quickly settled. She always showed love and compassion for her students. The only time I ever saw her upset was when a boy cheated in her room. She handled the situation with such grace and made all 30 of us think twice of ever cheating on anything.

During the days that led to Christmas, she played an Elvis record. My four friends and I had our own little quintet when we joined with the whoo-who-ya-whoo-ya’s in his version of  Blue Christmas! Mrs. Buttram would just smile as us, but we knew she expected us to work in between our serenades.

Developing a Love

It was in her class that I acquired my love for written words. We wrote poems, essays, and personal narratives. She giggled at my adaption of the ever-popular Peter Cottontail when I turned the words to “Little Tommy Turkey Tail trotting down the turkey trail”.

Perhaps more importantly, she took the extra time share the remarks, “Simply beautiful” on a story I wrote. Those comments were written about 34 years ago, but I still remember. The story was something about a girl who was peacefully pondering life. (We were required to illustrate our works, but I don’t draw. So, I cut a picture from a magazine where a girl sat on a mountain ledge. She advertised how easy it was to hike while wearing a pad!)

Teacher, Neighbor, and Church Member

One Sunday about seven years ago, I was at my home church in McCaysville, Georgia. Mrs. Buttram was still singing in her same sweet soprano voice. A lady, standing next to her, lifted her hand in praise to God. I thought how the lady’s hand was probably in Mrs. Buttram’s view of the congregation. I learned something new that day. Mrs. Buttram was not distracted by the other lady’s hand; in fact, Mrs. Buttram lifted her hand in adoration as well. I had many times thought of lifting my hands, but I was too worried about what others would think of me. That Sunday, I realized that it only matters what God thinks.

Last week, we drove Marietta to visit Mrs. Buttram, who now lives with one of her daughters.  Among the stories we shared about memories in neighborhood, we took the time to reminisce about her teaching days.

Then I gave her two magazines, “Good News” Rome editions, containing articles that Donna and I have written. I explained to her how much her encouragement meant to me over the years.

What a blessing it was to hear her say, “I’m so pleased, Karla. May I keep these to read?”

So many years have passed since I bravely jumped off the retaining wall going to her house. That wall that I used to look up to now seems so small. However, Mrs. Buttram will always stand tall in my eyes!