Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Understanding and Accountability

There is a very fine line between understanding a problem and then making excuses for why the problem exists.

As a teacher, I always wanted to know if students had learning issues. SLD, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, processing/ordering/ visual/ auditory, etc. If you want a child to succeed, you must know their needs so you can use the best strategies to facilitate learning.  Did I require less quantity and quality sometimes for one student than I did for the majority? Yes. I expected what I thought was reasonable and doable for that student, at that time. But sometimes, a student would refuse to put forth the effort to learn, no matter what I did. Did he fail? Yes. Did I fail? I don't think so. Learning requires participation from both parties.

Traveling life's road, we owe it to ourselves to look at our own issues; not only for ourselves, but for those we love. Thankfully, there are educators along the way to help us. Friends, family, counselors, books, internet.... can all be part of the process. But we must be willing to explore our issues. And this often means exposing ourselves to painful realities of who we are or have become.

Alcoholism runs rampant through both sides of my family. That is a fact that I have been keenly aware of all of my life. I am very sensitive to my own enjoyment of wine, beer, and other types of alcoholic beverages. My guard has always been up.

But there are other traits and tendencies I have found wandering through my family tree as well. Traits that were not so obvious, but could bring you to your knees just as readily as alcohol - and did. Depression, other addictive behaviors, lack of focus/drive, the 'somewhere over the rainbow' syndrome. They are all sprouts on my tree.

The longer I live, the more I am sure that God doesn't expect us to be perfect. But He does expect us to learn from our mistakes. He expects us to do the best we possibly can with what He has given us. It goes back to being aware and putting forth effort. Being aware of what His expectations are; putting forth the effort to make changes that need to be made.  I believe that He will hold me accountable for how I lived my life. So, can I not do so as well?  I must continue the process, until my time runs out.

I know that God loves me. He loves me enough to hold me accountable for who I am and how I live out my time here on earth. I'm glad He doesn't make excuses for me... I want to get past my faults and failings and be a blessing to those I love.

4 comments:

  1. I wonder if everyone (or at least anyone who is self aware) feels this way at one time or another? I know I do, and I have a few friends who have talked about it recently as well.

    Everything you have said here is so true.
    And it is so easy to fall into the trap of making excuses (rationalizations) for ourselves and others. And so hard to make the changes that need to be made. Hard, but worth it.

    There is one really wonderful thing - you don't have to get past your 'faults' to be a blessing to those you love. You already are =)

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  2. I often feel very inadequate. Thank you for your insight. Your final comment was a wonderful gift!

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  3. I agree with Sandi as I have have thoughts and feelings that echo these as well. It's truly insightful and honest and to me says a great deal about how you live life and don't let it just happen to you. I think that's beautiful.

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  4. Thanks, Crystal. Sometimes I think our greatest enemy is complacency. It kills our spirit and the desire to make ourselves and our world better. You are right, actively seek the life you want; don't just float through each day. Yay to doing and not just being!

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