This is our sweetheart Zach.
He is tenderhearted and is as good as gold. He is kind and gentle, yet he has such great strength in him. You would think that he would be timid, but he's quite the opposite. He's spunky and fun. He's adventurous and is willing to take on anything new.
Lately his new adventure has been running on the track team.
His older brothers run track, so he was very excited to follow in their footsteps.
Literally.
He started going to practices, and at first was still excited.
Then I started hearing comments as he discovered that being good in this sport was not going to come easily for him.
But, he kept going to practices.
After weeks of practicing with his team, Zach was excited about his first track meet.
He had worked hard.
And he was ready.
Then came the race.
He ran.
He ran hard.
But in spite of his efforts, he ended up coming in last.
And our sweet little Zach faced a challenge that I don't think he was prepared for.
He felt very discouraged, embarrassed, and was surprised that had happened to him.
I felt so bad for him.
It was one of those things that I couldn't shield him from.
I wanted to.
But, this was something Zach was going to have to get through.
We had a conversation about how he was feeling.
We talked about his discouragement and discussed different options.
And then Zach made a decision.
He decided to keep trying.
And I was so proud of him.
So two days ago, was Zach's next track meet.
I watched him start the race, and anxiously watched as he started to run, saying a silent little prayer for him to be able to do his best.
I watched him run around the track and felt so proud of him as I watched him fight for his spot.
He was not going to quit.
We screamed our crazy, loud heads off and I could tell he was giving it everything he could.
As our sweet Zach crossed the finish line, I was so happy.
He had not quit.
He decided to keep trying.
And he came in.....right in the middle of the pack.
He was not first in line.
But, he had done his best.
He had improved a great deal, and I could see relief written all over his face.
Zach's example of determination and endurance makes me very proud of him.
It makes me want to try harder to keep working on things that are hard for me.
It fills me with admiration for the giant person that is stuck inside Zach's little 13 year old body.
Today, he makes my heart happy.
2 comments:
Man he's an awesome kid. I want to be like him.
I totally agree, Britney, when I grow up I want to be just like him and never give up. Way to go Zach, what a priceless lesson to learn so young. It will serve you well on your mission and in everything else you go forward to do in life. I am very proud of you.
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