my one word

Learning Math

Life can be rough as a kindergartener, especially when you are trying to learn math.  After breezing through the alphabet, handwriting and reading, my oldest daughter faced adversity for the first time in her young educational career. She went from looking forward to homework to dreading the time when we took out her folder and got down to business.

Knowing her numbers wasn’t the issue. The disconnect came when someone had the audacity to take away 3 apples from her bushel of 5. She couldn’t wrap her mind around subtraction and addition. Her brain, which often goes a million miles a minute, screeched to a halt.

It was only a matter of time before frustration would get the better of her as she stared at the sheet of math problems. Dropping her pencil and head, she felt completely defeated. In her eyes, all hope was lost.

Sensing the desperation, Jenn went into Super Mom mode and swarmed in with a handful of M&M’s. They went through each problem by taking away and adding back some of those delicious chocolate treats. By being able to see the problem, our daughter suddenly began to understand her homework and tackle this new subject. Confidence replaced the uncertainty.

When it comes to my One Word experience, I’ve had moments like my daughter where I’ve felt lost, frustrated and confused. Trying to grasp new behaviors and the heart change required of them felt like I was learning a foreign language or attempting to grasp math for the first time. Things just didn’t compute.

Finding myself in a rut, I could sense I was on the verge of buying into the lie of mediocrity where I justify my frustration by saying ‘That’s just the way I am.’ This is the equivalent of saying that I give up!  I have resigned myself to be like this for the rest of my life.

“Just the way I am” rationalization has caused pain, embarrassment, resentment and worse.  In the midst of the struggle, I had to get to the point where I was confronted with the question of ‘What is going to change?’  Can something different ever become normal?

With discouragement, setbacks and temptations trying to sabotage my plan for change, endurance and intention were necessary on my part.  The same is true for you. Process is never easy so we must stay focused and struggle in the right direction.  When you focus on something long enough, things are bound to change.  And this change becomes normal.

• Read Romans 7:14-24. Write down the places and situations where you are most tempted to give up on your One Word. Where have you met the greatest resistance and what steps do you need to take to respond differently? Since it is not a matter of “if” but “when” you will face the temptation to quit, it is critical to come up with a game plan on how to prepare for those situations where struggle most often occurs.

• Rather than endure, we often come up with excuses as to why growth is just too hard. As long as we have a reason why we don’t change, we have an excuse to remain stagnant. Write down in your journal every excuse you’ve used to justify giving into the struggle. Over the upcoming week spend time in prayer being honest with God about those excuses and asking him to change your heart.

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010.  If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!