November 2011, by Debe Haller
Sunday afternoon I found myself in an emergency circumstance that caused my dismissal from an intensive six-week discipleship course. I was committed to the requirements and worked diligently for the past four weeks in order to graduate. In fact, I was one of six coaches taking the course alongside other Christians for whom we were the cheerleaders.
While sitting in a chair next to my husband’s emergency room hospital bed waiting for test results, I carefully reviewed all the requirements for which I had agreed to when I signed up for the course. As the owner of a business where we maintain procedures and protocol to insure our integrity, I totally understand, appreciate, and accept the guidelines for being dismissed from the course. I accept the fact that my missing class, regardless of the reason, disqualifies me. However, the realization of being ‘booted’ from Boot Camp had me in unexpected tears for the remaining two hours of sitting next to my sick husband. The hospital staff thought I was really upset hearing the infectious disease doctor diagnosed Danny with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome (shingles on the left side of his head/inner ear/face). Of course, that certainly added to my vulnerability of the moment.
After a difficult night’s rest, Danny was inspired to draft an appeal letter. However, I asked him to please not send it because I did not want to ask for an exception since the guidelines had been clearly stated. My absence equalled disqualification from the course. I immediately thought of when I am asked why I won’t accept a 9.9 on our school’s exit exam when our standard is a minimum of 10.0. Where do we draw the line? If we accept a 9.9, then what do we say to a student with a 9.85 who also has a ‘good reason’ for passing the exam?
A few well-meaning people have expressed their opinion of ‘but where is the grace in this course?’ God’s Word to me this morning was, My grace is sufficient for you I have heard/read this many times, but today it had a different depth. It is HIS grace, not man’s extension of favor or compromise, to us in a circumstance for which we do not like.
His grace gave me words to encourage others that this course is not “law” but a structured opportunity to practice the God-first disciplined lifestyle of a believer in Christ that most of us desire, but do not fully live without such accountability.
This morning as I pondered the dismay of people who just don’t get it, I wrote in my journal: “I agreed to the commitment and requirements set forth in this course fully understanding the expectation that, to stay in the class, I must meet the standards. Guidelines are established administratively for the overall integrity of a program, class, etc. Compromise waters down the significance of the final achievement.”
I’m humored, and humbled, that I was the one ‘booted out of Boot Camp’ but others are struggling with it more than I. I am a firm believer that God does not grant grace to third parties. My prayer is that no one take up an offense; but to understand that it is His grace that abounds and is all we need. May no seed of bitterness spring up within them or me. We must guard our attitudes and hearts.
I didn’t expect to take it as hard as I did (waa-waa) and finally stopped crying late that night. However, joy came in the morning as God inspired me with this new adventure as if I was “being sent away from The Biggest Loser ” with the challenge to continue at home on my own. As well as being honest before God, that is what the “heart” of the training was all about: developing a lifestyle of discipleship and accountability to God, not man.
It’s exciting to see how God is using this painful experience as another venue in which I can encourage others in their faith…like writing this article! And, yes, Danny is recovering just fine.
“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9
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