Undeserved Success. My Lord and Master Series part 5 (Conclusion)
"You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. You, O LORD,
keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light." (Ps 18:27-28 NIV)
I wanted to impress my dad and circumstances had given me the opportunity to do
so. I was in grade 9 at the Koninklijk Atheneum High School in my hometown in
Belgium. Because French is the second official language in Belgium and Oostende
is on the Dutch side, French had always been a required course at this
particular High School. For the first time in its history however, I was being
allowed to choose between French and English as my second language course!
To my dad, the English language was everything. As a young man during World War
II, he had lived in occupied Belgium where he often had to flee the Gestapo in
order to avoid being transported to the work camps in Germany. When D-day
finally arrived and the US and Canadian troops entered Belgium, my dad was
always proud to say that he was the first one to climb up on the first tank in
line and ride it into his hometown.
His fascination with North America turned into an obsession after this, and his
lifelong dream became to visit the United States, and possibly to even live in
this land of plenty.
Knowing how he loved the English language, I took it upon myself to choose
English as my second language course. I could just imagine how proud my dad
would be on the day I could converse with him in English!
What a disappointment when my envisioned glorious outcome ended in disaster.
Although my dad tried to help me with my homework (translating Dutch to English
and English to Dutch), my English language skills soon fell far behind those of
my seven classmates. By the end of my first school year, I had an "F" in
English! What an embarrassment!
To make matters worse, my English teacher told me clearly that I was not cut out
to learn foreign languages and that I would "never be able to speak English!"
I'm not sure what devastated me the most, the grade (I was an "A" student
otherwise), or the teacher's ominous declaration, but I took private English
classes during the summer so that I could retake the final exam in September. I
passed this time. Barely. But my grades in English for the remainder of my high
school years didn't improve much beyond a "D". My teacher was so right. I wasn't
cut out for languages!
As a result, I soon gave up my dream of making my dad proud by speaking English.
I decided to attend seminary instead. Although my relationship with God was far
from ideal, I wanted to know more about Him, and I chose a seminary in France,
one that was close to Geneva, Switzerland.
While there, I became acquainted with many young people from North America. They
were attending the language school associated with this particular seminary, and
they were quite obviously homesick. I decided to befriend them, and before I
knew it, the impossible happened. In just a few months I could carry on a
conversation in basic English.
Towards the end of that school year, a High School official approached me to ask
if I would be willing to tutor a student who was weak in English. She needed to
pass her BEPC (a mandatory grade 10 state exam in France, necessary for
continuing with High School studies), and she was failing. I had no idea how to
help her, but since there was no one else available, I accepted the offer. The
challenge was that we had only two months to get ready for the state exam, and
she certainly was weak in the language! There was no way she would be ready to
pass that test in just two months!
I could identify with her completely however, because I had walked in her shoes.
I did my best to help her, and this, combined with lots of prayer, was what it
took. We were both ecstatic when she received her BEPC results and she had
passed!
When I least expected it, God gave me a gift. I had given up all hope of ever
impressing anyone with my English skills, but God took what was outside of my
control, what was beyond any of my hopes and dreams, and turned it into a
strength. I can definitely identify with the apostle Paul: "For when I am weak,
then I am strong." (2 Cor 12:10 NIV)
As long as we try to be the ones in control of our lives, we will never truly be
peaceful or satisfied, and we will usually be faced with failure. When we are
full with ourselves, heartache will swallow us, but when we humbly submit and
depend on God's guidance, we will find ourselves blessed.
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is
more of God and his rule." (Matt 5:3 The Message)
Let's learn from our mistakes. Let's take ourselves out of the driver's seat and
let God be in control. After all, it makes lots of sense! Why should we trust
someone with 20, 30 or even 70 years of experience over Someone who has lived
for eternity and is all powerful?
May our prayer be like that of John the Baptist: "He must increase, but I must
decrease." (John 3:30 NASU)
Do any of you, by chance, need help with your English?
Rob Chaffart