August 4, 2006

• This one was written:  Oct 20, 2005.  I didn’t post it then because it felt so unfinished.  Today, I “finished” it –

  I got a C-

  My very first college Lit class was “LTEN 144:  the Mid-Victorian Novel” with Professor Berman.   I had left high school believing that I was a pretty darn good writer.  I loved the craft of words, and I loved reading novels and writing an “eloquent” analysis of its literary content.  It all started in second grade when I got second place for a poetry contest.  That was when I realized that writing wasn’t merely copying words out of the spelling book but that you can string it together somehow and create a harmonious melody.  I was further encouraged when in eighth grade, my teacher told me that I had “voice.”  Now anyone can write, but to have “voice” is not something you can conjure.  So it came as a bit of a shock to me when I got my very first paper back from Professor Berman.  I got a C-. That was the first time in my life that I ever got a C on a Lit paper!  It was absolutely humbling!

  I’m sorting through my old college papers now, as I’m packing my things for my move back to SD.  If I could, I would frame this very first paper with all of Prof Berman’s black markings all over my paper (he crossed out like half of my first page!).  I needed that dose of humility.  And I still need it today.

  By the time I finished my minor in Literature, I had taken three classes with Professor Berman.  In fact, he even smiled at me one day while I was running up the flight of stairs in the Lit building on my way to a dreaded meeting with another Lit professor.  He was the only professor who was able to see through my flowery writing and know that I was writing absolute crap.  He knew, he always knew, that I was flubbing through that part and had no idea what’all the depth of that statement really was about or what the character symbolized.  And while I always hoped he wouldn’t notice when I was flubbing, (he always did by the way), I am so glad now because his sharp eye helped to sharpen my writing skills like none other…

  What would we do without a third eye?  My experience with Prof Berman reminds me of, “Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God’s sight…”  (Heb 4:13)  God always knows when we’re flubbing; nothing is hidden from Him!  It also reminds me of, “…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”  (Heb 12:10)  If it was good to be challenged and corrected by my Lit professor, then how much greater is it to be challenged to change by our all-seeing, all-knowing God!

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