To act or to ACT

My daughter, who is a rising high school senior, is taking the American College Testing (ACT) standardized test for college admission. Upon taking 2 live tests and multiple practice tests, her consistent complaint: running out of time before she can finish all of the problems. Students practice speed and accuracy and those not satisfied with the results, take the test multiple times to increase their scores. Only the speedy problem solvers get the higher score spoils.

The morning she is taking the test for the third time, she asks me to pray over her as we do in our household whenever stakes feel high. It’s desperation time when a teenager asks for prayer.

We make the sign of the cross and I pray out-loud for peace for whatever score God wants for her and gets her into the college God chooses for her. I also pray for God to multiply her time so that she has the time she needs to finish the test.

After taking the test, she is gushing over how for the first time ever, she had enough time to finish all of the problems and even enough to check over the answers. I’m realizing my out-loud prayer must have come from the Holy Spirit.

Never losing a chance for a teachable moment (she may call it lecturing, but, whatever), I tell her God is the architect of time and, so, He is not bound by it; He can speed things up or slow things down at will. And Boom! We were the recipients of God’s miracle.

That night, I sang NeedtoBreathe’s song Multiplied at the top of my lungs, because why not, we are the benefactors of God’s multiplied grace!

For me, to 'act' is to share God’s miracles big and small with others in hopes it will build up their faith, just as other people have shared with me their happy God happenings. Hearing their witnesses props up my spirit, especially when I’m discouraged, and leads me forward on my faith journey. It’s an act that builds up community.

Out of curiosity, I looked up and found an example of God’s dominion over time in the Bible: Joshua 10:13