Speaking in Confidence

In the past few weeks I have met many people whose lives have come in contact with my own. Last week I started volunteering at the Garnett Bilingual Preschool where I've met some amazing women. I work in Ms. Carina's classroom with 1 and 2 year olds. The kids are precious and building relationships of trust with them has been a blast, but building a relationship of trust and responsibility with their teacher is what I would like to touch on.
Carina has had faith in me since the second I stepped into her classroom. She automatically handed me a book and said, "Just read it, your English is better than mine." To which I decided to take hold of the opportunity and read. She translated the things I said, and I tried my best to learn just as much as the kids were. I want to know her language. As the day progressed our stories began to slowly come out piece by piece. I told her about my passion for Guatemala and she told me about Argentina, her home country. We spent a lot of time comparing the cultures of the countries we both knew and loved. She told me about her kids, she has three boys, that are seven, four, and two. She told me how much they had blessed her and how her life changed as they continued to grow.
Our conversations were very intriguing, both of us speaking a sort of broken Spanglish. I would throw in the Spanish words I knew and fill in the gaps with the English, while she did the opposite, throwing in English when she knew I wouldn't understand. Getting to know Carina and her story has been such a blessing. God works through her everyday in the lives of the kids she works with and her own family, as well as the few conversations we have had. She told me not to be embarrased of my Spanish, but to speak it with confidence, and just hope the words come out right.

This advice relates to more than just speaking in Spanish, though. Throughout my entire life I've struggled to not be wrong. I don't care if I'm right, that doesn't matter, but if I feel like I have the chance to be wrong, most of the time, I just wont do it. Carinas simple advice to speak with confidence, and just hope the words came out right has been rolling around in my mind. She told me, "It's okay to not know, I'll understand you just like you understand me." It's okay to be wrong. The gentle love and encouragement by Carina and her collegues has been incredible to me. Without knowing it she is constantly challenging me and pushing me to put aside my pride and speak in confidence. The Lord is my strength, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks about me or if I'm right or wrong. He loves me all the same.