Finding My Way Home - A Christian Testimony

I was not sure how the school would respond, yet I could at least take consolation in having been honest. I might have tried to lie, but I did not! I told them everything and withheld nothing, figuring to just take my chances. Finally, in late May, the school's answer came. I nervously opened the letter and saw that their answer was favorable. I had been reinstated and could return to Old Dominion in June, just one month away. Seven months earlier, the school had denied my request to return. Now, they were accepting me. However, their reversal may not have been as special as I had initially thought because I had already served the customary one year suspension. Thinking back to the comment made by the President of Admissions, he had only said that I would never be able to overcome my wall of "F"s. He had not said that I would be denied the opportunity to try. I probably should have expected to be reinstated, but I had not.

When I had submitted my application, I had thought and halfway expected a negative response. When I had spoken to the Naval Recruiter in January, I did not know at that time if I would or would not be allowed to return to ODU or any other school, but after having called on the Lord in December, I was three for three. I was in the ROC-II program with the Navy Reserves, I had found a job, and I was now preparing to go back to school. My problems were still not over, but my prospects were definitely looking up! I returned to school in June 1968, and for the next four years, I worked very hard. Four years later in June 1972, the first part of my dream became a reality. I graduated from Old Dominion University, the same college which five years before had suspended me. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics, and on graduation day, I knew that the Lord had given me something which very few people ever get in this life - a chance to really start over! Without a doubt, He had been, has been, and continues to be very good and gracious to me.

After graduation, I went on active duty. A few months later, in November 1972, the second part of my dream came true, as I completed Officer Candidate's School at the NAVal OFFicer TRAining CENter (NAVOFFTRACEN) in Newport, Rhode Island and received my Commission as Ensign in the United States Navy. For me, it was a proud day. After four and a half years of dreaming, hoping, and struggling, I was finally an Officer, and my miserable past was far, far behind. From that first day in the Recruiter's office until my Commissioning Day had been nearly five years, but at the end of my very long journey, I had reached my goal. For most of my classmates, a simple Commission may not have been much of a big deal. Perhaps, to many, it only meant a job, but for me, it was everything. On the 14th of December in 1967, I had literally been at the end of my rope, without hope, and not knowing which way to turn, but by the 3rd of November in 1972, I was on top of the world, living a completely new life! The change which had taken place in my heart and life between those two dates must be attributed to the Lord. What a difference He can make in a life! I definitely could not have overcome all my obstacles without Him.

One final point concerning my return to Old Dominion University must be made, one which concerns the comment made to me in November 1967 by the President of Admission. He spoke of a wall of "F"s which I would never overcome. Was he right, or was he wrong? The answer to both questions is "not exactly!" I learned in my third year at Old Dominion that the school was supposed to have combined my marks from that terrible first year with my current records. All my grades dating back to 1966 should have been averaged together, but they never were! I completed four years at the same school where I had flunked out, but my grades and all those "F"s were mysteriously never brought together!

What had happened to my wall of "F"s? I did not learn the answer to that question until after graduation. While at Officer Candidate School, an occasion arose which enabled me to learn about all of those "F"s. The Navy had requested an "official" copy of my school transcript. So, I called my best friend, Robert, who was attending ODU at the time, and asked him to put in the request. I had known him for at least ten years, so he knew just about everything about me, including my wall of "F"s. That evening, I called from Newport to find out if he had made arrangements to have my records sent. He said that he had, but he also said that there was more which I needed to know!

After talking for a few moments, he shared with me what must be the most incredible news imaginable! At least it was to me. In the Administration Office, the Secretary, while going through the files, asked my friend if the transcript was for "James Thomas Lee, Jr." or for "James L. Lee". As soon as he said "L", I went into shock because we both knew what had happened. The school had never corrected the name on my original records! In November 1966, I had completed the form to have my middle initial changed from "L" to "T". I had done exactly as I should have done, but for some reason, the Administration Office had never corrected that original mistake. Because of a simple administration error, my first year had been lost, so I never had to find out if the President of Admissions was right or wrong. However, it would appear on the surface that he was wrong!

In conclusion, I return again to the mathematics of this special turn of events. In my opinion, the probability of an administration error such as the one made by ODU must also be in the realm of one in a thousand. It is simply inconceivable to suggest that the Administration Office of an accredited University, like Old Dominion, would make frequent mistakes of this magnitude. It is interesting to note that in November 1967, before I had called on the Lord, that the Administration Office had not had any difficulty locating my records. It is also interesting to note that in April 1968 when I had applied for re-admission to the school that the whole matter had somehow escaped their attention. It was as though something mystical had occurred between November and April, but whatever it was, I was innocent! I had done my part both by filling out an accurate application and also by trying to correct their mistake in the first place seventeen months earlier. But the Lord, who has always been abundantly good to me, saw fit to put those "F"s out of my life. It was not voodoo magic or trick photography. It was the Lord! I cannot say why He did that for me, but I know that He did!

Critics of the Lord have always tried to discredit God's work by citing natural phenomenon. This is because recognizing the hand of the Lord is beyond the grasp of natural man (see I Corinthians 2:14). Take the matter of the parting of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could cross on dry land and escape the charging Egyptians. Some Bible critics have argued that the children of Israel did not really cross the Red Sea, but instead walked through ankle deep water at an entirely different location. With such arguments, those individuals are merely trying to explain away a miracle performed by God. Other critics have said that the Red Sea automatically parts about once every ten zillion years (my exaggeration), but by this, they are simply implying that it parted at just the right time for the journeying Israelites to cross, making the miracle one of being at the right place at the right time, rather than the working of our Lord.

In my own case, I have tried to consider the voice of the critics. Some would say that the Navy Reserves saw something special in me which warranted their decision to give me a chance. Maybe so, but I have already indicated that the possibility of that happening was about one in a thousand, a number which is a very conservative statistic. Actually, it was probably much less! Some would say that college administration departments make mistakes all the time, and I suppose they do, but the probability of them completely dismissing both sets of records, which by the way would have had the same Social Security Number, after I had told them all that had happened, must also be in the realm of about one in a thousand. Things like this simply do not often happen, but they did happen for me!

If one were to put together each of these two independent events, then the joint probability of both happening would be about one in one million. This value is computed simply by multiplying the probabilities of each event together to obtain a multiplicative product. Having done that, it then becomes clear that the likelihood of both events occurring just as they did without the Lord's help is possible, but certainly not very probable. Despite the never ending arguments by the critics, the conclusion, in my opinion, must be that God for whatever His reasons had altered some very serious circumstances about my life, and just as I should, I freely give Him all the honor and glory for what He has done! In my heart, He gets all the credit for everything, both now and forevermore!