Good morning…

The generation I grew up in did not test for learning differences. The first time I remember knowing I was a “slow reader” was in fourth grade, when I could not read quickly enough to comprehend the timed sentences projected on the board in front of the entire class. Seeing the writing on the wall, I cheated off my neighbor’s paper during the assessment so I would not be embarrassingly placed in the lowest, slowest reading group, a deceptive choice which now seems even more embarrassing. Having just gotten clunky glasses to fix my faulty eye sight, my fragile self esteem could not carry the weight of also being labeled “dumb.”

So began my process of adapting to my weakness.

Reading well is the highway to success for many in our society. When my un-diagnosed dyslexic brain excluded me from that fast track highway, I had to travel back roads to discover my personal gifts. I used good listening skills to intuit the material most important to my teachers. Listening best by writing, engaging my ears, my eyes, my hand, I took detailed notes during lectures, highlighting what I sensed was of utmost importance in the lesson. I would recopy pages and pages of scribbled notes, then study off of them before each test. I was sure to crack my book if a teacher said, “Remember to study the chart on page 189,” but, in high school, college, and graduate school, I probably read less than one quarter of the pages assigned. I got mostly A’s in school because I learned best from my personal back road methods.

Listening attentively. Intuiting from within what is of utmost importance. Hearing best by writing, engaging my ears, my eyes, my hand. Such skills have been honed on life’s back roads. Listening. Intuiting. Engaging my whole self through writing. These personal strengths, born in response to my weakness, have ultimately become by best gifts to the world.

God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person… 1 Corinthians 2:11-13 (MSG),

Sue