Are you a slow learner or do you have a child with learning difficulties?
If so I want to encourage you. In a modern western society a lot of value is
placed on our academic ability. But over the years I have learned that academic
ability does not guarantee happiness. A learning disability does not have to
ruin our lives or stop us from realising our full potential. I want to share
some of my experiences in the hope that I can help you think more positively
about your own abilities.
I was not much good at school except for maths where I was above average.
I left school as soon as I could to work in a supermarket and then I went from
supermarket work to factory and roadwork labouring, very basic unskilled
labouring.
During that time I became a Christian and I ended up in Bible College. One of
the reasons I went was because I wanted to be a Pastor. I shared my ambition
with one of the lecturers at the college and that put him in the unenviable
position of having to offer me some guidance and that guidance wasn’t along the
lines of what I was hoping to hear. The lecturer handled the situation by giving
me a pamphlet that had the title ‘Others Can I Can’t’.
It was his way of letting me down gently. I didn’t actually get the point of
what he did at that time but it hurt when it did sink in. However I came to
realise that he was right. I’m just not cut out as either a pastor or a leader.
I have weaknesses in areas that should be strengths for leaders and pastors.
I am not a people person and I am not a leader and I am definitely not a good
real time communicator.
That did not stop me from enjoying Bible College however and I recommend doing
at least one year or even part time study to anyone who might be interested.
(The Bible College that I attended has external classes available).
The main things to watch out for are burnout and information overload. Don’t go
just for the sake of study; make sure it is all about your relationship with
God.
One of the things that College showed me was that I could study and enjoy it.
Going to College showed me that I can learn. A slow learner can learn; it just
takes longer, slow does not mean incapable.
I went back to unskilled labouring after Bible College but after a while I ended
up doing a correspondence course on Computing and then going on to do a course
in Business Computing where I gained qualifications in Computing.
Computers became my hobby. I loved working on them, for the first time in my
life, I had found something that I could do and it is a skill that many people
don’t have.
It’s not a reason for me to get a big head. The point is not for me to think
that I am better than other people but to realise that we all have skills and
we all need each other. If I had kept on focusing on my weaknesses and ignored
my strengths, I would never have had the motivation to learn computing.
I have my weaknesses but I also have skills; I set up my own website and manage
it myself, I can take photographs and some of them look ok, I’m not the best
photographer in the world but I enjoy taking pictures.
We all have skills. I am convinced that there is something that you are good at,
a talent that you are meant to share with others.
It is not inspiring when someone does something mundane and predictable. It is
when someone rises up to meet a challenge and overcomes the odds that it is
inspiring.
People who face challenges are an inspiration for others.
One great example of this is
Ian Kirk,
Ian has cerebral palsy and has spent his life in a wheelchair.
You can miss a lot about a person when you judge a book by its cover and Ian
is the classic example of that. Ian has a speech impediment that makes it
difficult for him to communicate. But a visit to his website will reveal a man
who is very articulate and quite intelligent. Doing normal everyday things is a
challenge for Ian. Ian has his own specially modified home and relies on a team
of part time workers, (he has
work available
in the N.E. suburbs of Adelaide S.A. if you are interested). He uses a stick
that he grips with both hands and a special keypad to type. He has his own
special chess set that has sticks on the end of the chess pieces and holes in
the chess board so that he can position the pieces. I am no chess champion but
I am a better than average casual player and Ian has no trouble beating me at
chess. Ian has many challenges yet in spite of all his challenges he can still
laugh.
If Ian can rise above his challenges then I am sure that you can as well.
What do you enjoy doing? Do you like maths, art or writing? Are you a people
person? Do you have leadership skills? What do you like doing the most?
Find out what it is that you enjoy doing and pursue it.
Why focus on limitations? If you have a talent then why not see yourself as
someone who has a gift?
I’m not saying that you should give up attempting to overcome weaknesses.
If you are struggling at school then please keep trying. As someone who
struggled at school, as someone who was not able to fulfil my dream of
becoming a pastor, I don’t feel like a second rate person because I know that I
have gifts that balance out my weaknesses.
I also know that God loves each of us for who we are not for what we can do.
In fact sometimes our abilities can get in the way of God. God is not looking
for talented people who can do his work without any need to rely on him.
He is looking for ordinary people who will trust him and allow him to reveal his
power in them.
You see if God uses an ordinary person to do something extra ordinary then you
know it was God who did it.
So what am I saying? The whole point of this article is that you should not
limit yourself or your children because of weaknesses but to see potential and
gifting and a person that God can use to reveal his glory through.
It is not easy to go through life facing a challenge and one article is not
going to make it easy but you can do what I did and learn to see yourself and
others as people with complimentary gifts. We can’t all be leaders and we aren’t
good at everything but we can dedicate our gifts and desires to God to be used
by him for his glory and see ourselves in a positive way.
God has a plan for our lives and our weaknesses do not take God by surprise
because he can even use our weaknesses.
The best way to learn how God can turn your weaknesses into strengths is to get
to know him in a real and personal way. The first step is to invite
Jesus
to be a real part of your life. It is also important to place yourself in a
community of believers that encourages everyone to participate so I highly
recommend that you find a good church.
