Do you ever wonder where Valentine’s Day comes from? It comes from a man named Valentine. He was a bishop of the church.
He lived during the third century. It was illegal to talk about Jesus and be a Christian at that time. St. Valentine loved talking about Jesus which got him arrested. While in jail, the judge started discussing Jesus with St. Valentine. He wanted proof that Jesus was real. The judge had a daughter who was blind and dared Valentine to prove Jesus was real by healing his daughter of her blindness. Valentine put his hands over the daughter’s eyes and prayed to Jesus to heal her. Jesus did it. The judge was so happy that he fasted and was baptized a Christian along with 44 members of his family. The judge let all of the Christians go. Lies You Have Been Told
Are you like the judge that didn't believe St. Valentine? Do you believe the lies that people tell you about life? When you hear that there is another way to look at life, do you want proof that it works?
Of course you do. We all have listened to the lies of others. We may have even told a few because we didn’t know any better. For example, you may struggle with learning. You may believe that since you struggle, you will always struggle with learning. That is not true. How do I know?
I struggled. I struggled in math and I was supposed to be one of the smart kids.
I also believed the lies that I was never going to be good in math. I even told my Algebra 2 teacher that I was never going to need this class, because I was going to be an elementary teacher. They don’t teach Algebra 2. Boy, did I have to eat those words!!! Have you ever heard of the phrase: “You make plans and God laughs!”?
Yeah.
Well, I made plans to be an elementary teacher. But God had other plans. He helped me be determined to learn math well. He also gave me the passion of teaching other high students how to love math more than I do. What should you do?Remember that today is Valentine’s Day. Today we are supposed to love. Love one another. And love ourselves. In the bible it says in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” To me this verse says that you may struggle now. But you can find a way to succeed, especially in learning. You just haven’t found the right way yet. Steps to Take to Succeed
The first thing you need to do is believe you can use your brain to learn new skills regardless of what it is.
Then set a goal for what you want to learn. Next find a strategy that works to teach you the skill. And finally, practice. Think about something that you are good at. How much did you practice? No, really. You probably practiced it quite a bit before you became good at it. Do the same amount of practice for something you struggle with, and in time, you will be good at that too. As you practice, be patient. It is going to take time to learn something difficult. If it helps do what Valentine did when he needed help. Pray to God for help. Ask Him to open your mind for new strategies to grow. Valentine lived during the third century which was when Romans still controlled the land. Today it’s the 21st century. A lot has changed since Valentine lived. We have more access to information than Valentine did, making it easier to learn new strategies. As you beat your struggles you will see the truth about what you CAN do versus what you CAN’T do. Next week we will take a closer look at 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 to forgive yourself and give yourself grace.
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