Reaching His Goal

Tonight I was reminded of the value of hard work.   For the past two years I’ve had the joy of teaching my son’s beginning catechism class at our church on Sun evenings.  The kids are working through the The Shorter Catechism Questions, and by completion of level 3 the kids will have memorized all 150 questions and answers. 

My son was in the beginning class which covers questions 1-32.   Last year he came really close to getting them all, but we didn’t quite get them all.  Since I knew he’d be in that class for 2 yrs anyway, I didn’t push him too hard.  When you complete all of the questions , you get a tee shirt as well as a certificate. 

I had no idea how much that tee shirt meant to my son until about mid way through this year.  As he worked on his questions at home, he’d ask, “Mom, do you think this year I’ll get the tee shirt?” 

He worked hard and diligently all year and when he correctly answered all 32 questions, the smile on his face could have lit up the room!  He raised his hands in the air and said, “Will I get my tee shirt?”  I couldn’t wait until award night when I would get to present him with the shirt.   

In a way, I am glad he didn’t earn the shirt the first year.  It was incredibly rewarding to watch him work so hard for it the second year and to see how much that shirt meant to him.  It was good to see him set a goal and then work to achieve it. 

It is my prayer that as he and his sisters learn these catechism questions, they learn more than just a bunch of questions and answers.  I pray that they learn and apply truths about God’s word to their lives.  I pray that they hide these words in their hearts so that when they are old, they will not depart from them.   I pray also that they will learn the value of hard work, of not giving up, and of setting a goal and working hard to obtain it.