This photo makes me laugh—and pause.
This is the look of a girl who would rather be anywhere than doing her spelling assignment. A girl who is usually joyful, curious, and bubbly… except in this moment, when she was downright grumbly.
But here’s what I’ve learned: sometimes the hardest moments in learning aren’t about the material at all. They’re about the attitude we bring to it.
I remember reading a post in a homeschool group where a mom wrote, “My 7-year-old just isn’t feeling math this year, so we’re pressing pause for a year.” At the time, Lucy was younger than that, and I was already watching her face challenges with a strong will and determined spirit. And I thought—what if I told her, “Sure, you’re not feeling it. Let’s just take a year off.”
What message would that send? That math is optional? That challenges are to be avoided? That our feelings always get to lead the way?
I knew that wasn’t the kind of resilience I wanted to plant in her. So we do math. Every weekday. Not to create a prodigy, but to grow character. To practice sticking with something even when it’s not fun or easy. To stretch the “grit” muscle. To try, to fail, and to keep showing up.
And here’s the thing—just as I want to honor her emotions, I also want to gently guide her to master them. To let her know it’s okay to not like something, and we can still do it anyway. Our attitude is one of the few things in life we get to choose.
So on this day, I gently reminded Lucy: “You can choose a joyful heart, even when something feels hard. Your attitude belongs to you.”
We prayed together. She took a deep breath. And she finished the assignment.
Learning isn’t just about facts and formulas. It’s about fortitude. And I’m learning right alongside her, day by day.
Raising Light 