I like to consider myself a diligent student, especially when it comes to languages because I have been in a foreign country and I have taught a foreign language, so I know the frustration of being a teacher of languages.
But if I am honest with myself, I haven’t been a good Hebrew student.
I know that language learning means daily exposure and wrestling with the language. I know that’s even more important when you are learning a language with a whole new set of characters and a new reading orientation. So why haven’t I just done what I know works?
Because I’m busy, because it’s hard, because it takes longer and I could get a lot more done in the time, because, because.
It’s easy to reason myself right out of studying for Hebrew. As I have caught myself making excuses, I’ve realized that I am quick to defend my choices, but not as quick to reflect on whether they are the best decisions.
It’s hard to admit that you aren’t good at something. It’s even harder to admit that and keep at it, but no matter how old I get, I want to be someone who challenges herself to try something new and to stick with it even when it’s difficult and frustrating and exhausted.
As we journey away from Thanksgiving and await Advent, I am thankful for a challenge that I am not sure I can surmount. I am thankful for learning something new, even if that means learning I don’t know everything.