"That's impossible. You cannot miss more than two days this semester. You will have to withdraw. No exceptions."

I walked away from the student services office feeling defeated. Yet challenges arising from missing school for the Feast of Tabernacles were nothing new. I had faced inflexible high school teachers and principals before, as well as college professors who promoted policy over conviction. I had also experienced power struggles that ended with a barely tolerant shift in policy that "allowed" for observing God's Holy Days.

I have always come through these challenges relatively unscathed and with high grades, despite threats of failure for missing days and work in class. Somehow school authorities don't believe it can be done, or that there can be any valid reason to miss school besides a death in the family or serious illness.

But this particular situation felt different. It was my last semester of college. For an elementary education major, the entire final semester of the program is spent in a public school. We are tested on our ability to teach and handle all the responsibilities of a real classroom.

The attendance policy for this semester of student teaching allows for no unexcused absences, and no more than two excused absences, period. The policy has literally prevented students from finishing for being out sick for three days. There are no exceptions to the policy, especially not for eight excused days for religious reasons.

I spent the afternoon going up the "chain of command" in the department. Each person I met with listened briefly and then turned me away. "There's just no way. It's the policy" were the words I kept hearing. When I left the student services office after again being told that what I was asking for was impossible, my last option was to talk to the dean.

My last option

I decided to take a few minutes in the restroom because I felt ready to cry instead of ready to take on the College of Education. In the quiet bathroom I prayed for strength and that God would work this out for me. It is not the worst thing in the world to miss a semester and graduate five months later than expected, but I had planned for a long time to graduate in December, go to Ambassador Bible Center (ABC) in January, and start a career and continue my life after that. Postponing this final semester would have delayed (for more than a year) the plans and goals I had set for myself a long time beforehand.

I was able to speak with the dean that day. She showed no sympathy and suggested that I not attend this "religious observance" this year. I explained that this was not an option for me but that I would be willing to do extra work and put in extra days to make up for the time that I would miss in the classroom.

She became very irritated, as if somehow my priorities were misplaced. She advised me that I would not be able to miss this much time every autumn when I became a teacher. She then told me that what I was expecting to do would now and in the future be harmful to my students. After this criticism she said she would not allow me to be excused, but that she could make a phone call to the provost for a final decision. It was my last glimmer of hope.

And God did intervene. I received word a few days later that I could continue the semester and receive credit if I made up the missed days. I attended the Feast in Panama City Beach, Florida, with my family and friends. I made up the days and finished in the first week of January.

While all of my work was turned in and I received an A, I was not allowed to graduate with my college peers in December. That came later. However, I did graduate with my ABC peers in August, and I had grown closer to them in seven months than to anyone I met in 4 1/2 years of college. It was a small price to pay.

Exceptions

People in authority, whether they be teachers, deans or bosses, will try to tell you there is "no way" you can miss school, work, tests, etc., because of your religious beliefs. No exceptions. But God's people are exceptions to the rule. We have to be. It is part of our calling and part of our witness to the world. There is always a way if you have the faith to put it in God's hands and not take "No" for an answer.

People in the Church of God all over the world put their jobs, educations and other important things on the line to keep the Sabbath and Holy Days. There are challenges and sacrifices for everyone to live this way of life because society is structured in ways that discourage the keeping of God's commandments.

Sometimes God will allow things to fail to work out the way we want or expect. We have to be prepared to withdraw for a semester, take a class again, get dropped from a sports team, lose a job, lose the support of family or friends—and still trust God to work it out for us in the long run and bless us for obeying Him.

Jesus Christ went to His last Passover in Jerusalem knowing people were there who wanted to take His life (Matthew 20:17-19; 26:2). Trusting His Father to preserve Him until His time to die, He did not let any fear of a premature death keep Him from doing what He must do and what He knew was right.

It was that important, and remains so today. When we feel persecuted for what we believe, we need only to look at His tremendous example to realize our struggle is not as bad as we think. And God will not allow us to be tested beyond our ability (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus Christ never let anything get in the way of keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days, and we as Christians should follow His example.

In this present society you may feel very alone, different, even strange, as you struggle to live the way of life that you know is right and true. I challenge you to look to the future—to the coming Kingdom of God—when society will be set up in harmony with the Sabbath and Holy Days for all mankind.

Businesses, schools and activities will all revolve around these days that are unknown to most of the world today. Under the direct rule and guidance of Jesus Christ, this way of life will no longer be the exception. It will be the standard—the way of life for all people.

We can set that standard for ourselves now as we look forward to the time when everyone will follow God's way. No exceptions. VT