It Pays Off - September 2009

“Aagh!” Amy puffed. “Math is impossible! I just can’t divide fractions,” she complained as her mom walked into the room. “I’ve tried this problem over and over and reworked it several different ways, but it’s not working. Maybe I could skip Mr. Benson’s math this year and just go on to algebra next year.” “But what if there are fractions in algebra?” her mom suggested. While Amy wondered if algebra had fractions, she noticed that her baby sister Addison was toddling around a small table. All of a sudden, Addison let go of the table and tried to walk by herself. After only two steps, she fell down. Amy watched as Addy immediately pulled herself back up. Amy’s mom was watching Addison, too. “Amy, look at how much Addy falls – walking seems almost impossible for her. Shouldn’t she just give up? Maybe she can just skip walking and start gymnastics in a few months.” Confused, Amy looked at her mother. “But, Mom, how can she do gymnastics if she can’t walk? She’ll figure out how to walk – she’s so close.” “Exactly,” Amy’s mom smiled. “Think of how often Addy falls down. Yet each time she gets back up and tries again; she is persevering to learn how to walk. Just like Addy can’t skip walking and go straight to gymnastics, you can’t skip dividing fractions and go straight to algebra. You have to know fractions to learn algebra. Not only that, but you will learn the perseverance and determination you’ll need for algebra by working hard on dividing fractions. When you’re tempted to give up, think of Hebrews 10:36: ‘You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’” “I think I get it now,” Amy said as she turned back to her math book.
Amy plodded away for another thirty minutes on her math problems, often thinking of Addy’s perseverance despite her falls and many bumps and bruises. The next day she was thrilled to see an A on her math test. Victory! she thought. Smiling to herself, she went to the other room where her sister was again toddling around the table. “Come on, Addy, you can do it!” she encouraged as she held her arms open for her little sister. Slowly, Addy balanced herself as she let go of the table, then took four quick steps into Amy’s waiting arms. “Yay, Addy! Way to go!” Amy cheered. “See?” she reminded her sister. “Perseverance pays off.”