The Missing Point. A Miracle Moment Story.

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A Miracle Moment Story: The Missing Point

Surviving College with help, from Within a Dream

Have you gotten into something, you thought would be an easy accomplishment, only to be sadly mistaken? Well, this was my experience my first year in Nursing school. It was truly one of the most challenging programs I have ever endured. In both high school & college (Associates level), I managed to maintain a very high, if not perfect GPA. All while barely opening a book. I’m not sure if it was because I was just an amazing test crammer. Or if it was because I was just really good at “getting by.”

I honestly can’t even remember ever doing any homework in high school. I know I certainly didn’t study for SATs like everyone else. My score wasn’t great, but I got by. Regardless, I would not qualify for grants, scholarships or student loans due to my citizenship status. Therefore, going to some expensive university (where student aid was required), strait out of high school would not be possible. Instead, community college would be my journey.

Once finishing up my 2 years at a community college, I applied & got accepted into a nursing school program. It was a lovely school, but it came with a very hefty price tag. Gratefully my citizenship status had changed, right in the nick of time. This allowed me to have access to financial aid, where I received both grants & student loans. Almost a week before having to enroll in my classes. Come to think of it, this was also a miracle moment.

My first year in Nursing school was brutal. I mean I had no idea what it was like to truly study. Every test in my Fundamentals class was practically a failing score. Thank goodness everyone else was failing too…this tragedy required our teachers to implement significant grade curves. I remember relying on these curves. Believing that they were all I needed (on every test) to get by, but I was sadly mistaken. After seeing students dropping like flies, failing out of the program, I realized I needed to burn the midnight oil. I needed to start studying like my life depended on it.

Unfortunately, I realized this way too late. I had only one final test left to take. I needed to score a high enough grade, to raise my overall average. In order to save myself in this Fundamentals class. Any grade below a “C” was an automatic fail & in result you would be held back a whole year. It was a “2 strikes, you’re out forever,” kind of system. By the end of the program only 20 of the 40 students would graduate (50%).

In my opinion I don’t believe these new instructors were really doing a great job at enlightening their students. The information that was reviewed in class was never really on their standardized tests, that came from a test bank. It was a true recipe for failure. If you wanted to pass, then you needed to know the whole book. Those books were sometimes thicker than the Bible.

Finals approached rather quickly. I needed to learn more than what I knew, a whole book more. So, I studied like there was no tomorrow. I developed the perfect study (test-cram) strategy. It consisted of cramming in a chapter, then taking a quick nap (10 minutes), to retain what I just learned. Then waking up again, to cram some more. This would be done as a cycle until most of the book was digested (Try it!). The following morning, I woke up tired, and somewhat ready for this day that could possibly impact my future.

As a class we sat in front of our test and said a prayer together. This was a private Christian school, so no one objected to it. After praying together, we started the test. One hour later the test was done. We all waited anxiously for our results. When the results were in, I knew I would be in trouble. Although I was 1 of only 3 students, that actually passed without the curve, I still needed more points to raise my overall average into safety. Once the curve was implemented (like it always was), I realized I was shy of a mere point. Just 1 point from passing, 1 Point!!!

I remember feeling totally sick to my stomach. My friend sympathized with me but encouraged me not to give up. “Go review all of your previous tests” she said. I complied & anxiously approached my Fundamentals instructor. Thankfully, she was more than willing to review my previous tests with me. All the tests were in scantron form. Scantrons were green papers that only gave little slits when the answer was wrong.

After reviewing everything, looking at the slits, and the points applied after the curve, I didn’t see anything. I went home feeling as if my world was crumbling. In a single moment I heard my spirit say, “you have nothing to worry about“. I didn’t believe it. I didn’t see how this was not a major crisis. That day, all I could do was cry. Even though I had a pharmacology test the next day, how could I study? I was in full-on crisis mode. Instead of studying, I cried myself to asleep.

Now you might read this and think that what happens next is in result of a powerful brain. It may be, but I believe it is in result of something even more powerful. After crying myself to sleep, I began to dream. In this dream I was shown one of the tests that I just reviewed at school. The very vivid dream showed me a scantron with a number of pink slits (wrong answer markings) on the test. It also showed me where there was a miscalculation. One single marking was meant to be given back as a credit but instead was missed. That single marking would be the equivalent of a single point. A point I needed in my favor, to pass.

Once the missing point was revealed, I instantly woke up from the dream. It was as if I was emerging from a deep ocean. Gasping for air, in shock. A revelation was now there. I had awakened from my dream, remembering it all. Remembering a single test in scantron form (it was one of many). It was now imprinted on my brain. This was not something I could have possibly calculated or even seen on my own. Rather, it was revealed in a dream, given to me. A very helpful dream. I believe that this help was coming from something, a source much greater than myself. A revelation dream of what I could not comprehend on my own, not even in waking life. It was as if the missing puzzle piece had finally appeared, presenting me with an answer. “I found it! I found a missing point!” I said in complete astonishment.

Full of hope, I called my friends & told them about the point I believed I uncovered in a dream. I was still feeling somewhat unsure if what I just dreamt was truly in accordance with reality. It could have been “just a dream.” My friends, although hopeful, reminded me that I still had another difficult test to study for. I needed to begin studying for pharmacology. A test that in my state of distress did not have the ability to focus on. Full of nerves, I opened my pharmacology book and began studying, with the little time I had left in the night.

The following day, I approached my Nursing Fundamentals instructor and told her of the point I think she missed. A point from a previous test. I looked for the test that was shown to me in the dream, and there it was. I found the test. I counted the highlighted errors and then calculated my final score. My dream was spot on! It was indeed a miscalculation.

My teacher recalculated my final score and realized that I actually passed her class. She sat frozen, looking completely stunned. “Can I return to class now?” I asked. She remained somewhat dazed but quickly snapped out of it. “Oh yes!” She said. She after congratulated me and rushed me off to my next class. My next class was pharmacology. I would now have to sit for another test. A test where I would again encounter another miracle moment.

STORY TO BE CONTINUED…

The Missing Point: Understanding Its Significance

I sometimes wonder if God had created this crisis moment, to show me that just “getting by” was not an option. It became the wake-up call I needed to put forth real effort. Gratefully, I was quickly checked, but without suffering significant lasting consequences. After experiencing the traumatic possibility of failure, I would never have to learn this lesson again.

Dreams are a phenomenon we can never truly understand. Even though they’re experienced often, sometimes nightly, we still don’t usually understand what they mean. Do they mean anything at all? Or are they instead just a figment of our imagination (our brains on overdrive)? A fascinating fact is that God often communicates through dreams. Especially in different stories of the Bible (example: King Solomon’s Story- 1 Kings 3:5. He is the giver of dreams (Joel 2:28).

I believe God was the higher source of my dream that evening. I also believe that He has since then been the source of other special & unforgettable dreams to come. My heavenly father continues to be my source of help. Providing His help in countless ways. Weather it’s through a dream, from the encouragement a friend, or even through the willingness of a professor. His help has always come right on time, in the nick of time.