Finding the direction that God has intended takes a lot of effort and a lot of believing in ourselves. Through diligence, faith and perseverance anything is possible. Here is a flashback to my Third grade spelling bee that taught me a few important life lessons.    

I dash in from playing kickball at our last recess. Our Third grade class had just conquered the fourth graders and a smile sits on my face of our newly acquired win. I am going to be the first one in my seat today. I sit at my desk in the back of the class room and as I am bending over to tie my loose shoelace when our teacher slams her hand on the desk and says, “Listen up kids!  I have an important announcement for you.” As the last classmate slowly slinks into his chair she continues on. “You each have the opportunity and privilege to be in the Third Grade Spelling Bee. You are all bright students. If you study these word lists and work hard you all have an opportunity to win the spelling bee.” The ‘class paper runner of the week’ excitedly distributes the word list booklets as she drones on, “Finally, there is a little catch to the competition.” We all sit up a little straighter in our chairs as our eyes fix on her substantial presence in  the center of the classroom. We are anticipating her next sentence. What could possibly be the problem that could ruin our third grade stardom? She carries on, “You will also be joining the fourth graders in the competition!” Moans, sighs, whispers of defeat and a few random paper airplanes fly through the air as she makes her final declaration. I mentally hung onto her instructions, “you all have the opportunity to win the spelling bee.” I carefully place the word list in my backpack and wander towards the bus.  

The word list remains tucked away in my backpack for the next couple of weeks. I completely forgot about practicing for the spelling bee. I walk through the front door after school and fresh bread aroma fills the air. I quickly run my stuff up to my room and run back down to sit at the table. I sit in my chair and enjoy moms ‘love’ baked into a loaf of bread. I devour the warm bread dripping with butter. Mom says to me, “I hear there’s a spelling bee coming up. Do you need any help with the words?” I gulp down the last piece of bread as embarrassment and dread surround me. I have completely ignored the spelling list. I shake my head in protest as she continues to slice another piece of bread. I silently make a plan to pull out the word list and study fifteen minutes before bed every night. If I go down a loser I can’t take my mom with me. I don’t know if I have left myself enough time to make it to the top three in the spelling bee. 

Later that night my backpack sits at the foot of my bed as a reminder to pull out the word list. In the dark I jump into my bed anticipating my study time and the future success I could possibly hold. I think to myself, I think it’ll only take one or two times through the spelling list to be really successful at the spelling bee. I dig into the side of my bed for my flashlight and I reach into my backpack for the list. I open the crisp word booklet and there are unending columns of words that I have never heard of. Fear, doubt and failure creep into my mind. I quickly brush these feelings aside and I come up with a strategic plan. Read the word and spell the word and then repeat. I get to word 15 on the list and I push the rubber button on my flashlight and quickly fall asleep.    

The next night is repeated and I feel like spelling words is similar to counting sheep. Each word is starting to jump over an imaginary fence. The words are gathering in a flock in the distance and I am starting to drift. I am losing interest and the words are big and confusing.  What the heck does con-science mean anyway and it’s pronounced the same as conscious. This is perplexing. My energy is wasted from the long school day and I drift off to sleep after only five practice words.   

The following night my flashlight was dimming as I slammed it against the mattress in hopes the light would stay bright. I am starting to give up hope of ever winning the spelling bee. Mom walks in and sits on my bed and asks, “Can I help you with your words?” A glimmer of hope fills my mind and I respond, “Yes!” We work together on spellings, definitions and pronunciations for the next thirty minutes.  My fragmented courage is slowly pieced back together as we labor together as a team.

The next week I am learning how to remove fear and failure and replace it with belief and faith in myself.  

The day of the spelling bee is finally here. Stress and worry of spelling out words like: cautious, mortified, and catastrophe have got me all jumbled up inside. What if I forget there are two Z’s in puzzlement? This is the most epic moment of my third grade life. I put on my nicest shirt and I make sure my pants and shoes are clean.  My permed hair is pulled up tight into a ponytail with little ringlets framing my face and neck. My flower bow is placed perfectly on the side of my head so everyone can see that it matches my shirt. If I don’t succeed at spelling maybe I could get an award for my hair. I walk in the school doors ready for success and ready to knock out the fourth graders with my spelling skills.

Our teacher lines us up at the door in alphabetical order. I am always and forever will be stuck in the middle. “M” is the first letter of my last name and I find this a bit boring. I will never be first and I will never be last. I will be just ‘meh’ for eternity! I can see my teacher’s bright orange dress flowing towards the kids whose last names start with an “A”. Her hair is cropped short and she is walking with confidence in front of her prized third grade class. She stops abruptly at the top of the stairs leading down to the gym floor. She says blatantly, “Go on now! Go line up.” We skirt around her and nervously run down the stairs to our position marked out on the gym floor. 

Cheap off-white masking tape is marked on the shiny gym floor. We all shuffle in silence and stare at the three judges in front of us. No one dares make an awkward move or do anything stupid. All 200 inhabitants of our remote town are seated in the audience. The judges are our neighbors and family friends. We stand motionless waiting for our directions. All of the residents are seated on cold metal chairs directly in front of us and the rest are subjected to the hard cement benches attached to the sizable partition. The high gloss white walls seem especially shiny today as the sun is smiling through the lofty windows on the south side of the gym. If anyone hits the gym floor wrong with their shoes or accidentally coughs the sound could reverberate for hours. 

The judges appear to be stiff and unfriendly as they give us the strict instructions of the spelling bee. The judge stands and loudly announces our clear specifications, “You will say the word, then you will spell the word and finally you will repeat the word. We will only give you the definition of the word one time. We can repeat the word three times. You will have an allotted time to spell the word. If you fail at any of these attempts you will be disqualified!” I stand a little taller and swallow hard out of fear of failing and not meeting the requirements.  

The spelling bee is starting and my long legs are beginning to shake with nervousness. My knees are about to buckle but I will them to lock in place. The words are slowly pronounced  and spelled out in slow motion. My friends are dropping like flies around me. I get my first word and I step up to the mic with confidence. The judge in front of me says clearly, “Spell LABOR. Do you need me to repeat the word? Would you like a definition?” “No thank you,” I say with all the confidence I can muster. I continue on, “LABOR, L-A-B-O-R, labor.” I give myself an imaginary high five and do a little dance inside my head. I am in the game for round two.

Round two comes around and there are only ten of us left standing. The words are intensifying in difficulty. My second word is announced and I score again.  It’s unbelievable! So many kids are miss-spelling the words and walking to their seats with their heads bent down in defeat. My turn is creeping up faster and faster. I look to my left and to my right. All that is left standing is my friend and my neighbor who lives a half of a mile down the road. We look at each other and then we stare out at the large audience anticipating the final winner. I let pride take over just for a moment as I look at my two friends and I silently say, “you are going down suckers!” 

The microphone makes a loud squealing noise as the judge announces, “We are down to our final three competitors. Let’s give them our full attention.” Dari please step to the mic. I walk confidently to the front of the judges. I got this! The judge loudly declares to the room full of people, “The word is KNAPSACK.” I quickly override the questions and hastily jump right into spelling the word that is going to win me the medal. “KNAPSACK, N…..A-P, KNAPSACK.” I didn’t even finish spelling the word. My mistake of leaving off the silent ‘K’ is resounding in my mind. I feel like someone got on a loudspeaker and announced to the world, “what an idiot Dari is for omitting the ‘K’ in the word ‘knapsack’- Everyone here knows knapsack has a ‘k’.” I had just let my pride get the best of me and I blurted the word out before assessing the spelling in my mind. 

Overall I was inaudibly elated. I placed third in the spelling bee. Even though I didn’t take the grand prize I was able to stay in the spelling bee with two of the smartest girls in the Third and Fourth grade classes. I was happy to be one of the few students standing at the end of the competition. I knew I could succeed at other things because I had felt a small accomplishment in winning the third place medal.

Lastly, I learned a few lessons through this bout with words. Difficult things can be accomplished when we have confidence in ourselves and we put forth effort. Fear and failure occasionally get in our way. We need to brush those negative feelings aside and completely believe in ourselves. I have learned to navigate my life a little bit better because of my Third grade spelling bee experiences.

Furthermore, goal setting is a great way to achieve greatness. We can set a goal for the specific destination we want to end up at. Along the way we can break down steps to help us achieve our destination. As we march along our personal path we can achieve greatness within. 

Lessons I learned:

1. Keep trying! Failure can motivate you to try harder and it can also inspire us to take another direction.
2. Work Hard- When we put effort into our lives there is usually a sweet reward. 
3. Pray for help-God is helping us down our specific pathways. Maybe we want our lives to go directly from point A to B. Oftentimes we randomly hit all the letters of the alphabet before we hit our destination. 
4. Break down your main goal into small steps.
5. Find a family member of a friend to help support you along your journey.

In addition to living a full and meaningful life, here is a recipe that can lift our mood and rejuvenate our souls. Here is a healthy recipe that you can indulge in and feel good about. It is sweetened with pure maple syrup that gives our bodies a plethora of vitamins and minerals. According to the National Institutes of Health, here are a few benefits on this sweet syrups list: Manganese, Riboflavin, Copper, and Calcium.  

• Manganese and calcium helps build strong bones
• Copper is good for brain development and helps maintain the nervous system
• Riboflavin helps turn food into energy 

Berry Cream Cheese Fool -Serves 8-10

¾ (180ml) Cup Pure Maple Syrup

8 oz (225 g) Cream Cheese, at room temperature

½ (120 g) Cup Fage Total 2 % Greek yogurt 

2 Cups (480 g) Heavy cream 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

⅛ tsp Salt 

4 cups (520g) Mixed Berries 

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl whip cream cheese until air is incorporated. 
2. Add pure maple syrup until the mixture is light and fluffy. 
3. Add greek yogurt and combine 
4. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream until the cream thickens and your ingredients are combined.  
5. Whisk in the salt and vanilla 
6. Fold in mixed berries and save a few to sprinkle on top. 

Optional: Sprinkle the top of your sweet dessert with chia seeds they are packed with fiber, protein, and they add heart healthy fats.

Resources: 

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/chia-seeds-pack-nutritional-punch#:~:text=One%20serving%20of%20dried%20chia,grams%20are%20heart%2Dhealthy%20fats.

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Riboflavin-Consumer/#:~:text=sheet%20on%20Riboflavin.-,What%20is%20riboflavin%20and%20what%20does%20it%20do%3F,into%20the%20energy%20you%20need.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/goal-setting-process

Medical disclaimer: The information on this site are my own thoughts and experiences. This is not a substitute for professional and medical advice. If you need help please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider.