It’s the night before our annual fine arts competition. I
won’t lie. It’s been a bit stressful these past couple of weeks. While we’ve
been busy preparing, I’ve also given this entire process a lot of thought. I
have been involved with these types of competitions in various roles for more
than 30 years….whoa! I hadn’t thought about the actual number until just now.
I
did my first speech for competition as a 6th grader. I didn’t do it
because I loved speaking in front of people. In fact, the thought of an oral
book report terrified me. I’ve never really asked, but I imagine that I was
asked to do this because I was capable of memorizing the speech, not because I
had great stage presence. In fact, I had no stage presence. I did the speech. It
was a religious reading. I stood up and said it as fast as I could and sat
down. I didn’t win any awards that day, but I got something even better.
Because I had a teacher who asked me to stretch myself and pushed me out of my
comfort zone, I realized that I could stand up and speak and live to tell about
it.
Over the next few years, I continued to participate. Each
year, I would improve, but still no prizes. Why did I keep doing it? There is
something very satisfying about the process. The memorizing and practicing aren’t
always exciting, but on competition day…to stand up in front of a crowd and
present what my family was probably sick of hearing, felt good. I felt
accomplished…whether or not I won a trophy at the end of the day.
My senior year, I finally won the actual prize…first in 2
different speech categories. The prizes were nice, but the lasting results of
experiencing that process over and over again have helped me in so many ways
throughout my life….perseverance, hard work, team work, dealing with disappointment,
enjoying success, understanding that God’s will isn’t always my way…all of
those things have helped me be a better adult.
I had many people who encouraged me along the way. Thank
you!
Since those high school days, I have been the encouraging
sibling, the mom, the teacher, the coach, and the judge of many other speech
contestants. Some things have changed over these 30 years, but that process
remains the same. There’s something else that hasn’t changed – that feeling of
accomplishment when it all comes together.
Over these next two days I will attend many different speech
and music events—some as mom, some as teacher, some as coach. I will enjoy
listening to the results of the grueling process. There will be a huge sense of
accomplishment and relief, but at the end of the day, not everyone is going to
get a physical prize. What they will get—whether they realize it now or not—is the
benefits of being refined by the process.
And, if at the end of the day, you see me shedding tears….it
won’t be because I’m sad about “losing.” I usually end up crying because I
think about all of these students and all the hard work, and it’s very
emotional for me. My tears are a mixture of relief and joy. Then I go home,
rest, and soon I’m ready to start this whole process over again.
I am so proud of my children and all the students who have
worked so hard to get to this point. It’s not easy to put yourself out there to
be critiqued by others. Whether you win a prize or not…you have benefited from
this process. Learn from this year, and don’t stop trying!
Interesting and I would expect nothing less from you. Also interesting that I had already written and chosen for my daily devotion, a short commentary on Hebrews 12:1-2 and I had titled it The Race. We love you for all you are.
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