My 22-year-old son is now a teacher of mathematics at the Convent of Mercy Academy “Alpha”, having pursued a Bachelor of Science in Math and Education at the University of Technology, Jamaica, in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. Imagine that: a senior primary school student who had no idea how to solve a subtraction problem enrolled in less than 10 years at a tertiary institution to study math! In the natural, it doesn’t add up, but in the spiritual, all sorts of multiplication can take place when you trust God!
MAKING THE GRADE
How did my son, Garth Juniour Reid, make the grade? At first, he attended a preparatory school, but we transferred him to Southborough Primary, where he passed his Grade Six Achievement Test for Jonathan Grant High. I worked hard with my son to help him understand mathematics. Extra lessons were used as a strategy to bring him up to par, but they failed miserably. It wasn’t that he wasn’t trying, but something was blocking his mind from understanding the concepts.
When I recognised this, I sought God’s help in the situation. The prayer warriors at the Power of Faith Ministries (Portmore) spared no effort in this regard. I also did the same, taking him to church sometimes in the morning before I went to work. Before we knew it, the CXC proficiency exams were on our doorstep. It was June 2016. I had the jitters when my son’s math teacher told me that she would not recommend him for the more popular CXC exam, but instead, he’d be entered for the one certified by the City and Guilds examination body.
A GRADE 4 PASS PRECEDED THE EINSTEIN ANOINTING
My faith in God moved me to register and pay for Garth to sit the CXC Math exam as a private candidate. He attained a Grade 4! Encouraged, he promised, “Daddy, you won’t see this result again!” From that day on, my son received the “Einstein anointing” on his head from God Almighty! The prayers had been answered, but God was waiting for him, Garth Juniour, to decree and declare over his own situation in order to turn on the light bulb. Glory to Jesus! Garth locked himself in his room and kept on practising and practising mathematics. By June 2017, he had attained a Grade 2 in CXC math, among other subjects, and was qualified for a tertiary government scholarship. Hallelujah, blessed Saviour!
Parents, I adjure you: do not give up on your children. No matter what, reassure them, don’t beat them down, pray over them. They will be grateful to God and you later in their lives. The children of Jamaica need us as parents to stand by them, to bless them through God Almighty, to fast for them, hug them, love them, anoint them. I encourage you to try this strategy and watch what God will do in their lives.
Even now, God is still blessing my son in his role as a math teacher at Alpha, where he is also the youngest faculty member. Garth is a natural leader, and the parents and the school community commend him a lot, for he and some of the students are very close in age. All I can say to him is, “Garth, thank God first, give Him the praise always, and bless His name. All of the glory belongs to Him.”
