Warriors

This week I've serendipitously come across several quotes, verses, educational philosophies, articles, song lyrics, and so on with a similar message. 

One quote by President Woodrow Wilson that I found in my journal from years past: 

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.

Another song by Casting Crowns that's played on the radio every time I get in the car:

Where are you, men of courage?
You were made for so much more
Let the pounding of our hearts cry
We will serve the Lord

Because we were made to be courageous 

I've got some dreams ... crazy dreams, passionate dreams. They're fun to talk about with people that support and encourage my dreams toward reality. Some people hear the main goal and change the subject, or get fidgety after only a few sentences, and it makes me feel like pooh! It's hard to protect a dream, and be courageous sometimes.

Yesterday I was grading papers after school let out. One of the fifth graders was sweeping the classroom with his mom, the school custodian. In the middle of a long silence he said, "Mom, you know what I wish?" 

She looked at him quizzically. "What?" 

"I wish I were a warrior." I tried not to laugh from behind the computer. 

"A warrior?" She asked. "What kind of a warrior?" 

"An Indian warrior, that fights in battles." 

A dream to be strong, courageous, a warrior. 

Today I was grading in the fifth and sixth grade room while they worked on their This I Believe journal entry. They write a This I Believe statement every Friday morning and share it with the class, an idea taken from NPR radio. Really, an awesome idea to incorporate into the classroom, to help kids think more critically about their personal morals and social ethics. As I listened there were some silly things like, "I believe ice cream is delicious," or "Sugar is good for colds." And more serious statements, "I believe I can do all things through Christ," and "I believe that God made people to love each other." Such awesome things from 5th and 6th graders. I was impressed. Then I heard one that caught my ear, "I believe that Mrs. O, and Miss Kristina are really pretty, inside and out." It was a pooh-ey kind of week, but a fifth grader reminded me that I am pretty. That I'm a warrior. That I have pretty dreams and goals worth fighting for. I forget it all too often.