FEELING STUMPED

The question at the end of a survey I was filling out took me by surprise. "What do you consider to be your greatest life accomplishment and why?" My mind went blank. Even now, many hours later, I'm still not sure what to say.

Attending McGill University was an accomplishment. Academics had not been my forte--especially math, my nemesis--but when our math teacher told me I would not be able to pass the college entrance exams, it spurred me on to prove her wrong. I studied so hard for those exams that even though most of what I'd crammed into my brain was soon forgotten, I was able to retain it long enough to get surprisingly high grades and become one of a very few girls from our school to be accepted by this most prestigious college on the list.

After graduating from McGill, I wanted to further my education and become a speech therapist, but the only school in our area that offered the required training was the University of Montreal, a French university. Up for the challenge, I enrolled in their speech pathology and audiology master's degree program despite my limited knowledge of the language. Graduating with honors was quit an accomplishment.

Being a single mom in New York City was also an accomplishment of sorts. My husband died when the children were seven and nine, leaving them with a mother totally lacking in parenting skills. Nevertheless, despite my well intentioned but misguided efforts, and by the grace of God, they grew up to be adults I can be proud of.

The only other thing I can think of that would qualify as an accomplishment, is writing a memoir, and becoming an author of children's picture books in the winter of my years. It's always been so hard for me to express myself, I never aspired to be a writer, and the way it came about surprised even me. I can only believe that God has a sense of humor, and delights in making the seemingly impossible possible. Nothing is too challenging for Him.