On the Road Again: The Exams Part Two

Well, there we were - on the road again. In my dad's Mazda again, rolling down highways lined with dead trees and patches of snow-speckled brown grass on our way to Maritime Christian College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The sun was shining, it was a few degrees above freezing, and the roads were quiet. We had the music thumping, I sipped my bottle of water, Dad sipped his thermos of coffee. It was a beautiful morning for a drive - back to that little library and that old computer for the exams part two.

Dad and I drove back to PEI on Monday to take some more of my Anne Shirley exams, also known as CLEPs. I had Western Civilization I in the morning and College Composition in the afternoon. But it was Western Civ that was worrying me. It was this that had me sitting outside of the testing centre for fifteen minutes before going in, frantically flipping through my study guide one last time. It was this that made the butterflies slam against the walls of my stomach. And it was this that made my heart pound when I hit the "Submit Test" button. It was also this that forced me to rely on God even more. So it was a pretty great feeling to pass it. Pretty great. I started grinning like a fool when I saw my score. And since there was no one in the library, it's possible I may have done a mini happy dance. Very possible.

I had a short lunch break and then returned for College Comp. CC didn't worry me near as much as Western Civ. It did leave me more unsettled, though. It's made up of 50 multiple choice questions on elements of grammar and sentence revision, to be done in 50 minutes. Then you have to write two persuasive essays (one with sources, one without) in 70 minutes. When you're done, you don't get a score. Your essays will be sent to two random English university faculty members somewhere in the U.S. who will grade them. Their cumulative score, combined with the multiple choice questions, will give you your official score. The unsettling part is that I have to wait for them to mail it to me. It could take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. So now I get a lesson in patience!

Taking exams has a way of revealing true heart attitudes. I know these two I took on Monday really showed me an area of my life that I struggle with - self-reliance. When pressure is placed on you, things come to light about how you really feel, things you may not have known before. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) Taking these state examinations has really prompted me toward self-examination, and for that I'm truly grateful. The process of sanctification is not always easy, but it is good. Knowing my own struggle with self-reliance forced me to make a much greater effort in prayer and reliance on the Lord. I tried to keep my attention on Him, not on myself. Soli deo gloria.

So now I'm home, waiting for College Comp scores, catching up on some sleep, and starting some study for my next two CLEPs - Western Civ II and Introduction to Psychology. At the end of the day, my reflections were simple: God is good. Let us never forget. God is faithful. Let us never doubt.