Grace
One of my most vivid memories of college is not so pleasant. It was the first semester of my freshman year, and I must say….. I was enjoying it. I had an Economics 130 at 0915AM on Monday, Wednesday, and every other Friday. Without my mom around to wake me up, my attendance for the 0915AM class was less than stellar. Nevertheless, by mid-semester, I had an “A” in the class. Then I missed a class “to catch up on my sleep”. Apparently, during that class, the Professor scheduled a test, and I eventually missed the test. I could have accepted my fate, took a zero for the test, and probably still made a “C” in the class. However, I decided to lie, and I lied in a very dishonorable, but college-like way. I told the Professor that I missed the test because my Grandmother died. The Professor became suspicious, and confronted me about my story. I’m not a very good liar, and I told her the truth.
She kicked me out of the class and gave me an “F” for the semester. The “F” was bad enough. I had never gotten an “F” in my life, but I was also on a scholarship, and I needed to maintain a 3.0 grade point average to keep the scholarship. That “F” brought my grade point average down to 2.92.
I needed to call my Dad, but it was the absolute last thing I wanted to do. But I worked up some courage, grabbed a handful of quarters, and found a pay phone (yes, it was that long ago). I called Dad, and he could tell that I was upset. Actually, in my 18 year old head, the world was about to end. I’ll never forget what he told me. He said, “I guess she’s (my Professor) never made a mistake”. With that little bit of reassurance, I knew everything would be okay.
I still have an “F” on my official college transcript to this day, but I didn’t lose my scholarship. I also learned that little white lies are not so white to some people. And while I can’t say that I’ve always been a model for honesty, since that day, I’ve done much better.
However, for me, the real lesson is not about honesty. It was about my Dad showing love and compassion, when I obviously didn’t deserve it. I guess the real lesson was about grace. My earthly father read a situation and responded with love and compassion. How much more love and compassion will our heavenly Father respond with, if we take our problems to Him?