Role Models
People we can emulate often are very meaningful and significant in our lives.
Positive role models can motivate us to pursue excellence. They nay even instill hope for what is possible.
In my career as an advocate and rehabilitation counselor, I had the privilege of working with many young people with disabilities to assist them in setting goals for employment and independent living. Often it is especially difficult for disabled youth to plan for their future because they lack a vision for what's possible. Opportunities to interact with happy successful adults with disabilities could be helpful to intill hope and encourage kids with disabilities to dream.
I've wanted to be a teacher since I was a child. I absolutely loved playing school and longed to have a real class of students. As a teenager I was thrilled to volunteer in a classroom of primary aged children who were deaf. My heart soared with enthusiasm and expectation as I planned to attend college as a special education major. Then one afternoon my hopes were shattered. I encountered the principal of my high school. After she heard of ny goals, that principal, a significant figure of authority in my life, flatly stated that it would be impossible for me to become a teacher. When I stannered a bewildered "Why?!" the principal tersely replied: "Because you're handicapped." There were no examples I could turn to at that time. I was devastated. It took a long time for my broken dreams to be repaired, but God had a plan. I believe teaching is a calling and at least part of the destiny for my life. Many years later I had the joy of being the homeschool teacher for a girl in first grade and a kindergarten boy. I will forever cherish the memories of helping those precious little people learn.
In my adulthood I met a role model. No, she does not instruct a schoolroom of children from her wheelchair, but she definitely teaches. This fine woman of faith Joni Eareckson Tada uses her experience with disability and her many gifts which include speaking, writing,and drawing, to communicate life's most important lessons. Joni inspires people to find a genuine relationship with the God she loves.
If you would like to learn more about Joni and her ministry, you may visit her
website:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/html
As I reflect on the value of role models, I am reminded that we are instructed through the words of an apostle to follow the example of noble individuals and pattern our lives after the supreme role model - Christ
1 Corinthians 11:1 (Amplified Bible)
PATTERN YOURSELVES after me [follow my example], as I imitate and follow Christ (the Messiah).
Positive role models can motivate us to pursue excellence. They nay even instill hope for what is possible.
In my career as an advocate and rehabilitation counselor, I had the privilege of working with many young people with disabilities to assist them in setting goals for employment and independent living. Often it is especially difficult for disabled youth to plan for their future because they lack a vision for what's possible. Opportunities to interact with happy successful adults with disabilities could be helpful to intill hope and encourage kids with disabilities to dream.
I've wanted to be a teacher since I was a child. I absolutely loved playing school and longed to have a real class of students. As a teenager I was thrilled to volunteer in a classroom of primary aged children who were deaf. My heart soared with enthusiasm and expectation as I planned to attend college as a special education major. Then one afternoon my hopes were shattered. I encountered the principal of my high school. After she heard of ny goals, that principal, a significant figure of authority in my life, flatly stated that it would be impossible for me to become a teacher. When I stannered a bewildered "Why?!" the principal tersely replied: "Because you're handicapped." There were no examples I could turn to at that time. I was devastated. It took a long time for my broken dreams to be repaired, but God had a plan. I believe teaching is a calling and at least part of the destiny for my life. Many years later I had the joy of being the homeschool teacher for a girl in first grade and a kindergarten boy. I will forever cherish the memories of helping those precious little people learn.
In my adulthood I met a role model. No, she does not instruct a schoolroom of children from her wheelchair, but she definitely teaches. This fine woman of faith Joni Eareckson Tada uses her experience with disability and her many gifts which include speaking, writing,and drawing, to communicate life's most important lessons. Joni inspires people to find a genuine relationship with the God she loves.
If you would like to learn more about Joni and her ministry, you may visit her
website:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/html
As I reflect on the value of role models, I am reminded that we are instructed through the words of an apostle to follow the example of noble individuals and pattern our lives after the supreme role model - Christ
1 Corinthians 11:1 (Amplified Bible)
PATTERN YOURSELVES after me [follow my example], as I imitate and follow Christ (the Messiah).
Comments
your friend,
Debby