Attitude, not Aptitude

Tonya was young, even for a kindergarten student. She was a kindergartener during my first year as a principal. Tonya spoke two languages fluently and a third, adequately. That September, she was able to read and write way beyond grade level expectations. Therefore, it was a real shock to the teacher when Tonya responded to a request to put her name at the top of the page she was working on with, “Mrs. Jones, you are expecting entirely too much of me. I am only four years old.”

Any child, four or fourteen, who can respond the way Tonya did is more than capable of doing what is requested. The expectations were not too great. The desire to meet them apparently was.

How often do we feel that the expectations God places on us are too great? We must know, however, that God never asks us to do that which is beyond our ability. Not only does He never asks too much, He is there to help us do what we should do, what we need to do, and what, in reality, is in our best interest to do. I think that too often we are like little Tonya. It is not a matter of aptitude, but rather, attitude.