Challenges and Choices

Here's an interesting quote that I found in the SLC paper the other day-it really started me to thinking:

The real challenge isn't what someone else does to or around you, or even what you do to yourself. What matters more than anything else in this world is how You choose to deal with those challenges.---Alan Mangum from his book Challenges and Choices

This morning, my favorite little boy told me in a very small voice that he had a note in his agenda book that needed to be signed. I knew this wasn't a good thing because if it was, he would have told me about it last night instead of this morning when I was trying to make breakfast. It seems that Jared has not been doing his work at school and he is a tad behind on a writing assignment. Let me explain about J, he absolutely detests school and hates writing more than anything. He loves to read but he can't stand school and although he makes good grades it's a constant battle for him (and me). We talked about this yesterday when I was taking him to school and then again this morning. Sometimes we have to do things that are hard, that's the way life goes. I told him about something that I had done at work that wasn't right, but I went to my boss (wonderful man that he is), told him what had happened, how I was going to fix it and all was well even though I was scared to admit that I had made a mistake. So, I wrote a note back to his teacher telling her that I had spoken with him about it and that if it would help, to send home the writing assignment and we would get back up to speed this weekend. I told Jared that if Ms. Reno sent the assignment home, we would be working on it during cartoon time on Saturday. This, of course, is a fate worse than death-to be working on schoolwork when he could be watching cartoons-the horror! But, he accepted that and we'll have to see how it works out.

I spoke with Mike on the way in and he told me that Jared had broken his heart on the way to school. You see, Jared was crying about said writing assignment that it was too hard and he couldn't do it. Mike and Jared are very much alike, they would rather be out hunting, fishing, building a fire or digging in the dirt than cooped up in a classroom. Mike graduated from high school by the skin of his teeth and he hates, absolutely hates, doing anything schoolwork related. I had to remind Mike that this was a challenge for Jared and that he needed to do it even if it was hard. We would help him in any way that we could, but he needed to do it and next time it would hopefully be easier.

Back to the quote, it is really up to us how we deal with the challenges in life, whatever they may be. My mother taught me that the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fires and that I could be miserable in my challenges or I could look on them as blessings that make me grow. Heavenly Father has told us that he won't give us tests that we can't handle. I take comfort in that phrase, knowing that He knows me and how much I can take. He may give me something that brings me right up to the line, but He is also there to lean on in those trials and I think that's what He's trying to teach me sometimes-to lean instead of doing it myself. I'm still learning.