I will NEVER be able to do that.

Have you ever heard someone say that? Well, I suppose that in certain circumstances that could be true. I will never be able to be a pro football player (mostly because I'm not a guy and I'm sure I'm past the age limit). But have you ever heard someone say, "I will never be able to do that", about something that is actually within their grasp? How about, "I will never be able to be organized", or "I will never be thin", or "I will never be able to get good grades", or "I will never be able to control my spending habits",..... the list goes on and on and on.

I have a "dream job". I never thought I was smart as I grew up. As a matter of fact, I was in my 50's (oops, okay... so now you know....), when I discovered that I'm actually pretty smart. I discovered as I was raising my children that I had ADD as a child (still do), and no matter how I tried, I could not get good grades. When my older brother wanted to get the best of me in a heated sibling rivalry moment, I would call him a typical name (for kids who are fighting), "you're stupid!", he would counter with, "Wanna compare report cards?" He was always an "A" student. What a crusher!! I wanted to get good grades in the worst way but I just didn't know how. After raising our 5 children I learned a lot about how to help them be successful. During those years I had a variety of part time jobs where I typically made minimum wage. I remember how excited I was when I got a job as a classroom teacher's aide working with autistic children, and I was paid $12 and hour. That was amazing to me. I'd never made that much before. One day, I realized that maybe I could do better. As I watched the teacher and supported everything she did in the class with the kids, I thought, "I might be able to do something like that myself." So, I started finishing up my general education prerequisites, one class per semester by going to a junior college one night a week. Math was my biggest dread. I had to take two "dummy classes" before I could take the one I needed in order to transfer to a university. When our "baby" was a junior in high school, I had finally completed all of my General Education requirements and with fear and trepidation I enrolled in a university, quit working, got a student loan, and started going to school full time. I had been getting "A's" at the junior college level, but that was only one class a semester. As I dove in, I discovered that with the techniques I taught my children to succeed with, I was able to continue to get "A's" at the university level. I still marvel that it was even possible... that it happened to ME. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely an intense amount of work and my family thought I had moved to another country, but I did it!! It took 6 years to earn 2 bachelor's degrees, a master's degree, a teaching credential, my state licence, and my national certification. Now I'm a Speech and Language Pathologist. I LOVE what I do. I work with older kids and adults. My biggest "high" is to work with someone who, for many years, has said things like, "I'll NEVER be able to say the /R/ sound right", or "I give up, I'll always have a lisp", or "I've been in the United States for 20 years now and I am told I will never be able to move up in the company because I can't be understood due to my strong accent". The Lord must really love me, or at least He is very aware of me and answers my prayers. I have worked with more people than I can count now, who have overcome these speech challenges quickly, and I get to say, "you don't need me any more". Tapping into your God-given talents, or at least having the privilege of being guided by the Lord to learn beyond what your education gave you, and experience success, sure does feel like what heaven must be like.