Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Illustrate the meaning of “Don’t Try to Walk before You Can Crawl” (without using the actual phrase or literal example). (01/17/08)
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TITLE: Three Amigos | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
01/23/08 -
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We’d all returned from the autumn camp full of vigour and vim, ready for the fall and winter terms. Three of us had, unbeknownst to the others, given our lives to the Lord on the same evening. We only discovered it later that night when I timidly said something at bedtime. Alice, Frances and I were inseparable after that – we attended the same all-girls high school, and looked forward to being a part of the Student Christian Association (SCA) once we returned.
It isn’t meant to be like this. We’re the ‘Three Amigos’ the ‘Three Musketeers’ but they have left me in the dust. Why can’t the committee members recognize me too? I am the same age as Alice and Frances, what’s so different about me?
But deep down I knew what was different. I had parents who loathed Christianity. When I returned home from the camp and told them in all innocence that I had decided to become a Christian, there was quite literally hell to pay. I was banned from finding a church, or even getting a ride to one; I was informed that I would no longer be allowed to attend the camps (even though my parents had known they were Christian-sponsored events); and I was informed that I could not have a bible. My only sanity at the time, my only ‘church’ was the once a week meetings held at school by the SCA as an extra-curricular activity. As long as my parents didn’t ask which activity I had chosen, I didn’t tell.
Alice and Frances were lucky. Their parents supported and encouraged their decision. Frances had been raised in the church, Alice less so, but her parents could see only good coming out of her choice.
Of course it makes sense to pick them. Face it, they are more accessible, can do more for the committee, but couldn’t the committee have at least chosen older girls? I mean, I know everyone is looking at me wondering why I didn’t get picked. Laughing it off is harder than I thought. I really wanted to be on the committee.
The year progressed and I fought for my faith every step of the way. My father had to drop me off early every morning, so I got permission to start a prayer meeting in the gym. That time, short as it was, kept me going, along with the weekly SCA meetings. I saw Alice and Frances less and less at the SCA events, even though they were committee members. The following April, once the winter term was beginning, the SCA committee president approached me and asked me to join them. “Where are Alice and Frances?” I asked.
“They dropped out,” Caron informed me. “They just couldn’t take the pressure. In fact I hear that Alice has stopped going to church altogether.”
“Why me? Why now?”
Caron said, “When the three of you joined the SCA last year it seemed you had the least to offer. The other two were filled with enthusiasm and good ideas, and they appeared to be so grounded. You, on the other hand seemed to be struggling just to hang in there. But Alice and Frances fizzled out, and you’ve become the one whose feet are firmly planted and who has unshakeable faith. We think you’d be a great addition to the SCA committee.”
Alice and Frances never did come back to their Christian walk like they did when they first committed themselves to the Lord. I thank God every day that I have never wavered in my faith. It is so precious because I had to fight for every inch I have ever gained.
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