There are many definitions of "be," but one of the ones that stuck out to me is "to maintain a place." Maintaining a place is not an easy thing to do, especially when so much is going on around you. To be in a position where you just have to be patient, yes I did say that dreaded word.... Patient... Is difficult! Having patience in different situations is, well, let's just put it this way.... I thought I was a patient person, and then I started teaching special education children, and I learned a whole new meaning of the word patience. I learn so much from my students everyday. Some days more than I wanted to know, haha. One of the main reasons I love my job, is the kids. They have no choice in how they were formed. They have and deal with disabilities on a daily basis. Someways are good, someways are bad, but you just have to learn from all the struggles and work through them.
Now that I have been teaching for several years, I actually have kids that are starting their final year in middle school. That is hard to believe that I had them in my class 3 years ago, but it has been that long! I have the pleasure of tutoring one of my kids from my very first class, this year, and it is neat to see how much he has grown. I am so proud of how hard he is working and advocating for himself. He most definitely struggled, and has to work hard even now, but whenever I come he is always willing to work with me, even when he doesn't feel like it. None of the credit goes to me, I just get the pleasure of seeing this boy grow up and realize that he is going to have limitations, but he is not going to let that stop him. He could say, well I have these limitations, but no, there are no more excuses, it is his education, but more importantly it is his life. It excites me to see the spark of believing this in him! He is going to have to work harder than his friends, he may not pass everything, but the most important thing is that he works as hard as he can with where he is and what he is able to do. I can already see how just him having this mind set is making a huge difference in him- being open to new strategies of learning, and just listening. His life will never be easy, but the awesome thing is that we get to celebrate all of those little moments, even a new font that one of his friends said may help him with reading. Yes, we get excited about font, and it is an awesome thing to get excited about! He has no choice to be in a place that he will struggle, but what he does have a choice in is his attitude and how he faces the struggles.
Know that I am not saying that maintain your place means you can't move or you are stuck. Sometimes you do have the choice to move and start something new, and if that is you right now, then I want to encourage you to go after it. What I am referring to is the situations that you have no control over and you just have to "maintain your place."
I have said the title of this blog several times, even just as recently as a couple of days ago. There are things that happen in life that are out of my control, and some things that are. The bottom line is I have no choice but to be... I have no choice but to maintain my place, doing the best I can with every situation that I face. What I have the choice in is my attitude and how I use it to help me grow and learn. Growing pains are not easy.... Learning sometimes involved doing it the hard way. It seems to me that many times in my life I have had to go through these growing pains-sadness, broken heart, hurt, disappointments, and so much more- but in the end I have no choice but to be, and to know that there is a bigger plan than even I realize. I believe that God has a plan, and I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that it will be ok.
Always Going
Never Giving Up
Trusting
Loving
Believing,
Aimee
