I didn't know the meaning of proud, until today. Noah has been working hard on a class assignment while off track. He was to select an animal, research the animal, write a report, prepare a project and then present it when he returned to school. Noah knew right off that he wanted to learn about TIGERS. We went to the library and gathered some books. Utah Idaho had an activity with a Tiger that Noah spotted right away and so began the journey.
Every day, we colored a bit here and colored a bit there. We read a page here and read a page there. I was grateful for the time in which to break up the task in increments. Noah is smart, but he will be the first to admit that he feels pain over having to read or write; hence, writing the report was no easy task. It required a great deal of effort for Noah to write a two and a half page report. Finally...completion. Inasmuch as Noah is apprehensive about reading, I thought it would be advantageous to practice. Noah's Grandparents dropped in Sunday Evening to be the audience for Noah. He had his posters displayed and read over the report. I was amazed at how well he did. There were a few words that he questioned like "territorial" "adaptable" "tropical mangrove swamps" which did seem to surpass a first grade vocabulary. I was a bit nervous for him as I didn't want him to struggle before his class. I even wondered whether or not he would stand before his class.
On May 13, 2010, I popped into the classroom. He adorned his handsome face with a gihugous grin which was pleasing to me. A few times he put his fingers to his mouth and did the chattering with his teeth to show me he was nervous. He had to sit through several reports and was the last one to present that day. There he stood at the front of the classroom with his teacher holding the poster and his project on the chalkboard tray. I could not believe this was my baby. Where did the time go? He started right into his report, "I did my report on Tigers because they are GGGRRREEEAAATTT" and spoke clearly and projected his voice. The teacher paused him to ask the class a question and Noah in trying to help them answer the question, kept pointing to the white Tiger on his shirt. He knew...he knew what he was teaching about Tigers.
The teacher then asked if Noah would like to tell the children about his poster. We had not prepared to talk about the poster and yet there he stood pointing out the pictures and sharing interesting facts. I heard Miss Snow say, "Good Reading, Noah!" No one can truly appreciate the beauty of those words as I did. He was spectacular! I had no idea that THIS is how parents feel when their children perform. As I looked to him, his face was beaming. He knew he had worked hard and he had a real sense of achievement...almost giddy.
I left the school with my heart beating fast with excitement. Noah had done a very difficult thing and he had been successful. Noah worked hard to prepare so that he could be confident in performing the task he had been given. I was overjoyed to witness the challenge and the success. I wondered if that is how Heavenly Father feels when He knows we are confronted with difficulties and we work at them, we struggle and we work at them some more until the obstacle is no longer an obstacle. Then with big smiles upon our faces, we journey on knowing that only He can truly appreciate the miracle of triumph and victory.
What I learned from Noah: There is deep abiding joy in being able to overcome and do the hard things. I have hard things facing me. Yes, it can be frightening and there are some things I just plain don't like or want to do, but in doing them, I gain strength. With daily preparation, a bit here and line upon line, the potential to overcome is within reach. I too have an assignment to fulfill. I will take Noah as my example so that I can stand with confidence and perform the mission I was meant to perform.
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