Thank You for Being My Teacher

Dear Loved One,

Yesterday was my wife’s birthday.

And while appreciating her, I found myself saying something that I had never said publicly before.

“Thank you for being my teacher.”

I have known her for thirty-four years. And as those words came out, I thought to myself, what a strange thing to say after over three decades.

Shouldn’t I have graduated by now? Shouldn’t there come a point where you know someone completely? But apparently not.

And maybe that is a good thing.

Because here is what I have come to realise: many relationships do not suffer from lack of love. They suffer from lack of curiosity.

Familiarity convinces us we have seen it all. So we stop paying attention. We stop asking questions. We stop listening. We stop learning.

But people do not stop growing. We simply stop studying them.

People are not books you finish. They are libraries you keep returning to. There are still things to learn. Still things to admire. Still things to understand.

This is true in marriage, in friendship, in leadership, even with God.

Paul, who had written most of the New Testament, still said in Philippians 3:12: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on.” He refused to graduate.

Perhaps that’s one of the quiet secrets of lasting relationships… The humility to remain a student. Remain curious. Remain teachable. Remain interested.

The day you think you have fully figured someone out may be the day you stop truly seeing them.

Have a great week!

Shalom,

Ayo Daniels