The Test Before the Lesson.

Very few students enjoy taking a test. Fewer still enjoy taking them before the lesson. As usual, Carol Harrison brings us a spiritual lesson.

Testing a Person’s Patience

Puzzles can test a person’s patience if they are difficult ones or if you don’t really enjoy doing them very much. Yet when we persevere we enjoy the end result and others can see the picture in its completeness.

There are many things in life that can feel like a test. Most people don’t like tests of any kind – not the ones we had to take through out our school years nor those that might be teaching us life lessons like patience.

Taking a Test at School

Can you remember sitting in school and the teacher reminding you of an upcoming test or quiz? Did you take it in stride, go home and study diligently, or panic because you couldn’t possibly study enough to get a good mark? Picture a conversation in a classroom for a moment.

“Pay attention Billy! Are you listening? There is a test this Friday.” the teacher reminded the class and Billy in particular.

“Teacher, are all these lessons on the test?” Sally asked.

Memories of School Days

Does this evoke memories of school day for you? Days of trying to make sure you learned all the lessons required to pass the tests or just trying to get out of any more studying than necessary. Hoping the teacher would point out exactly which material would be tested so you could focus your study time, possibly because you hadn’t kept up with the reading.

Many, if not all of us, are long past our school days. What is the difference between school and life? American author and radio broadcaster, Tom Bodett puts it this way,

“In school you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

Testing Life Situations

What testing life situations have you found yourself in? I have shared many times about one of the tests in my life that contained such a pivotal point and many lessons learned that I still reflect on and put into place for other testing times.

On August 4, 1982 the doctor’s words, “It’s a girl!” rang out in the delivery room but no other sounds followed. No cry from my baby for almost seven minutes. Finally she took a tiny gasp of a breath that I wondered if I had heard or hoped for and imagined to be so. Over the next twelve hours she quit breathing again and again – more times than I can remember until she lay in a coma, fighting for her life.

A huge test had begun in my life and that of my family. We had no chance to prepare ourselves for it. We waited to see if she would live. We waited to see if she would have brain damage and how much. We waited to see which milestones she would be able to accomplish if she survived.

Lessons We Learned

The tests continued off and on for years, still do in fact. Through them we were taught many lessons. Three of these lessons were:

1. Have faith. God is working even when it didn’t look like he was but I came to realize that miracles happen even when they don’t look like what I expected.
2. Patience This lesson was and still is a difficult one. It is so easy to tell someone else to just be patient and yet trying to live with patience is difficult.
3. Celebrate the little victories, the abilities in the disability.

What Lessons Have You learned?

Former American baseball player, Vernon Law puts it this way,

“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the tests first and the lessons afterwards.”

We all have various experiences in our lives that teach us lessons we only wish we could have learned in a different manner. The tests are as unique as we are. What lessons have you been taught from testing times in your life? How can you share those to encourage others?

Have you experienced a test? What life lessons have you learned? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.