I seriously had one of the most humiliating experiences of my life yesterday.
This would be a good time to disclose that I am taking the next step in God's calling on my life by entering Bible College in March 2011. It is something I have ALWAYS wanted to do, and felt God wanted me to do, it just has not presented itself so perfectly until now. That being said, I must also say that at the age of 34, taking a Math and English placement test was NOT my idea of a "Red Carpet Welcome"....I mean, seriously, I have an Associates Degree already, WHY must I prove I can add 2+2 and tell the difference between a noun and a verb? Silly waste of time if you ask me! Little did I know......
"Mrs. Mahnke (which I HATE being called)....it is also required of every applicant to take a "Pre-Entrance Bible Test".....to myself, I thought...."percentages may throw me off...sentence structure may give me fits....but this BIBLE stuff....NO PROBLEM!!! Or So I thought!!
I can tell you the stories of the Bible. I can pull a Bible verse out of the inner most part of my brain on the spot....I can answer Bible Quiz questions....I can win a Bible Sword drill against almost ANYONE...I was, after all, BORN A PK!!! But this....this test....well, I think the point is to prove to those of us who are entering this vocation, that being "born entitled" is a scam, and that for certain, we must each dig deeper to be prepared for such a calling.
I am not saying that everyone has to go to Bible college or be called into ministry to be so humbled by God. What I am saying, is that God is slowly stripping back the layers of who I "thought" I was. He is taking everyday situations in my life, and demonstrating to me that He created me for a specific purpose, and that purpose has nothing to do with my birthright here on earth. Being born "entitled" as a daughter of a preacher, is an identity I took on from the day I was born. It has created for me wonderful opportunity and great love from hundreds of people. What it also did for me is create a false sense of who I was. Every choice I made, every choice I did not make...every relationship I had....every relationship that broke my heart....every THOUGHT I had eventually found it's root in the heritage I had here on earth, not the heritage I have in Heaven.
I love being a preacher's daughter. I love all the "spoiling" that has come along with it...all the gifts, all the memories, all the laughter, and even all the tears. But today, today I am reminded of who GOD wants me to be OUTSIDE of that label.....a fully sold out, knowledgeable, never wavering, deep and transparent Child of the Living God.
Needless to say, I left the library laughing out loud at the inadequacy of my Bible Knowledge....saying to myself and anyone around...."NO OSMOSIS"...!!!
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