Article August 19, 2013 Issue

Trust and the test

Lynne Cook

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). I’ve heard these words all my life. I’ve read them in the Christian Science Bible Lesson, heard them mentioned during Christian Science testimony meetings, and seen them referred to in articles and testimonies in this magazine many times over the years. They are lovely, encouraging words, meant to bring hope and inspiration, but for many years they were just that to me—words.

Several years ago I decided to go back to school to obtain my master’s degree in early childhood education. As part of the application process, I was required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), which is basically the graduate school equivalent of taking the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which most US colleges require.

It had been nearly a quarter of a century since I’d been in a classroom as a student, so the thought of preparing for this exam was a bit daunting. Frankly, I was not concerned about taking the English portion of the test, but passing the math and logic sections seemed a herculean task to me.