Posts Tagged: learning Spanish

“Character is the Real Lesson”

On January 19, 2024 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning.

For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet kicked me off after I had finished it, but before I had been given credit for it. I did it again. This time, my internet stayed up long enough to give me credit for it. Then I finished a second lesson, only to be kicked off the net before Duolingo had acknowledged my accomplishment.

Uncharacteristically, I did not get too frustrated. I don’t know how much frustration is the right amount, but I suspect that I got it about right. For me, this is a miracle on the order of the parting of the Red Sea. I am an incredibly easily intimidated and frustrated individual.

What helped me to cross my own personal Red Sea and escape slavery? (And yes, my captivity to frustration and fear really is a form of slavery.) I think that what helped was that I realized what my real lesson was. Actually, there were two real lessons.

The first was that my goal is to learn Spanish, not to get points or get back to the Diamond level, which I briefly inhabited. This is a very important lesson that I am having to relearn every day. Spanish is not about points or rankings. Neither is life.

The second—and even more important—lesson is this: God is not simply interested in my learning of another language. God is interested in me learning to let my character be transformed. I am not a patient person. My piddling internet issues are helping me to learn patience.

In a sense, patience is the opposite of frustration. In a deeper sense, every frustration is an invitation to training for patience. Ultimately, character and its development comprise the real lesson.

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“Enjoying the Countryside and Everything in It”

On October 17, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Psa. 96:11       “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

                        let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12         let the field exult, and everything in it!

             Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”

I am learning Spanish, so I am trying to do my morning devotions in Spanish. On a recent morning, I read the following:

“Alégrense los cielos, salte de gozo la tierra, retumbe el mar y cuanto contiene. Salte de goza la campiña y cuanto hay en ella.”

I could make out a good deal of this, but decided to check myself. Here was the English translation from an online translation site:

“Let the heavens rejoice, the earth leap for joy, the sea rumble and all it contains. Enjoy the countryside and how much is in it.”

Not bad! But not quite right either. It’s okay up to that last sentence. It is not “Enjoy the countryside and how much is in it,” as nice as that sounds. Rather, it is a call to nature and everything in it to rejoice in the LORD and in the LORD’s goodness.

Perhaps nature—and everything in it—don’t really need such a call to worship. Maybe they do quite well on their own. However, we want other people to value what we value ourselves.

Also, remembering that all creation is created by God and should be praising God might enable us to be a bit more humble about our relationship as humans in this universe. Sometimes, those of us who are theists (i.e., people who believe in God) get too full of ourselves, not realizing that God’s goodness and creativeness embrace and infuse more than just the human race.

Of course, it is also important to “enjoy the countryside and how much is in it.”

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