This past December I had the opportunity to perform for so many incredible places and people. It was an amazing time but one young man stands out as the highlight of my month. His name is Ben and he's the one taking the bow in the picture. You see, Ben just created a miracle and made the room fill up with snow!
When I went to talk to Ben before the show and ask if he would be willing to help me, he was shy and nervous. He'd never been on stage before. While he loved magic, he'd never performed a single magic trick in his life and here I was asking him to get up in front of hundreds of people to try something he'd never done (and didn't know if it would even work)!
He was hesitant at first, but I simply told him I believed in him and I knew he could do it. I said, "You have within yourself all the magic you ever need to make this happen. All you have to do is believe in yourself and try something you've never done before!" All I needed to do was be his courage for just a few moments, and then he would do the rest.
Ben agreed to help me and he did a fantastic job! Backstage he was nervous, but within a few seconds in front of everyone, he was having the time of his life. By the time we finished and the room was filled with snow everywhere, he was taking a bow on his own and asked me afterward when we could do it again.
Kids live in a world very different from ours. We have little victories under our belt that help us believe in the tough times. Maybe all we've done is overcome a little problem in other peoples' eyes, but to us, it was big and bolsters our confidence for the next one.
Kids, on the other hand, don't always have those victories yet to draw from. Worse yet, they often lack the courage to step out and try to win. Maybe it's due to their life away from school, or whatever other students have said to them, or just a lack of self-confidence. Whatever it is, it affects them.
Whenever you see an opportunity to give a student a little victory in their life, don't hesitate to do it. Maybe you won't be making it snow in the building (it's messy to clean up afterward), but if you can take a moment to encourage them for an award they've won, a book report they finished, or something they've written on their own or done, it will go a long way.
This month, I challenge you to look for a way to give a "victory" to as many students as you can. Be their courage in the moments they don't have any!
