(Continuing the stories of the Worldwide Church of God and Ambassador College)

It was a warm spring Saturday evening, just perfect for young couples to go out and explore the wonders of Hollywood. My date and I, along with a freshman couple from Ambassador spent the evening dining and sightseeing. We were so enthralled with the sparkle and glitter, we completely lost track of the time. Before we realized it, we were approaching the bewitching hour of 12:00 midnight. This was the time set by the college’s administration as a curfew for all students. There were no exceptions. Students not conforming to this standard faced the threat of immediate expulsion from college.

To make sure the students followed this rule implicitly; each dorm had an official dorm monitor. It was their job to enforce the rules without compassion, understanding or mercy. Break any of the rules…then the nightmare would begin.

The students desperately needed to get back to their respective dorms before their time ran out and the monitor locked all the doors. After midnight, the only way in was to awaken the beast. To do so would incur some wrath as if the devil himself had been disturbed.

We all felt the urgency of getting back to the campus. So I pushed the peddle to the metal and away we went. I did not run any red lights, came close a couple of times. We made the 30 minute drive back to the campus in 15 minutes flat.

It was close; the time was 12:05 AM when we arrived at Mayfair, which is the women’s dorm. The big question at this point, was luck on our side? Unfortunately, just like clockwork, she locked all the doors at midnight. So there we all stood at the front door, perplexed about what we should do next.

The young male student was not concerned about the midnight curfew for himself since he knew how to get into his dorm and by-pass running into his monitor. As it turned out, his roommate always left the bedroom window slightly ajar. It would be easy for him to crawl through the window and quietly get into bed.

It was his date that all of us were concerned about. It seemed like an impossible task to get her safely inside without disturbing the monitor. As expected, she became frantic. Frankly, the mere thought of a confrontation scared this shy and insecure young woman almost to the point of tears.

Seemingly, her only choice was to ring the front door bell. That solution would have been disastrous!  Actually, some of the monitors relished these types of encounters. They would pounce on their helpless victim tearing them apart verbally for breaking curfew. Then with great and arrogant pride, turn the helpless student into the minister in charge, or worse, the dean of students.

Her date decided to walk around the dorm to see if by chance any of the lower windows were slightly ajar…no such luck!

She just did not know what she was going to do. Typical of a young miss in distress, her eyes became teary and she began to cry softly. Her gallant young date told her not to worry. He had the perfect solution to her dilemma. She was a little perplexed as to how he would be able to solve this seeming impossible situation.

As he walked around the dorm, he saw something that just might work and solve their problem. He asked if we would follow him to the south side, which we did. He then began his explanation of the solution to the problem. It turned out it was, well, far from perfect, in fact you might say it was utterly crazy. When students faced impossible obstacles that place them under unfair and unrealistic pressure, they become very creative. The results of which were often some very interesting and daring, if not outrageous plans. Such was his…..

He pointed to the tall tree growing on the south side of Mayfair. It had branches overhanging the second floor balcony. He noticed that the glass doors were slightly ajar, obviously to let fresh air in. It was the perfect setup and all that he needed for his plan to work. He told her, he would climb up the tree, ever so quietly, then go through the open glass doors; being very careful not to awaken any sleeping students. He would walk down the hall, then down the stairs and unlock the front door for her.

The only problem, he would have to pass by the monitors room, this was perhaps the scariest and riskiest part. If he awakened her, he would face all the wrath of hell poured out upon him for no man in his right mind would walk through the sleeping quarters of a woman’s dorm. However, he had no choice but to risk it for the safety and peace of mind of his date. He knew the risk he was taking, and if caught the price he would have to pay.

It is an extremely tense situation; there was no margin for even the slightest error. Just one unforeseen mistake would result in his facing immediate dismissal from college. There was zero chance the dean would ever believe his honest intent was to help a damsel in distress. Nonetheless his confidence, if not arrogance gave him the fortitude and courage to forge ahead with his plan. Once past the monitor’s room the path to the front door would be clear. She began to cry softly, not out of fear but out of appreciation and hope.

All was going rather well as he started to climb up the tree. He was nearly to the balcony when he stepped on one of the branches; it suddenly broke with a loud POP! He nearly lost his balance and fell but was able to maintain his grip on one branch. He pulled himself up and motioned to us that he was ok. He moved into the shadows just in case someone heard the commotion and came to the door to investigate. We also instinctively moved back into the shadows where we were out of sight. Fortunately no one was awakened, at least no one came to check on the noise…..He waited for several long moments, which seemed like an eternity, then moving back into the light he could see clearly into the hall way. It was all clear, not a soul was stirring. He gave us a thumbs up, we all sighed in relief.

He quietly and cautiously entered the hallway, and then made his way down the stairs to the lobby. AS he disappeared into the dorm, the three of us went to the front door to wait. Finally, at 12:45am, after what seemed like hours we could hear him slowly and carefully turn the dead bolt on the door.

WOW! What a relief! He did it! His date thanked him profusely for his chivalry and courage. She kissed him on the cheek. His eyes glazed over and his face flushed red, as he stood there motionless. Her act of appreciation dazed him and put him into never, never land. She gratefully thanked and smiled at us, then closed and locked the door behind her. He kept mumbling, she kissed me, she actually kissed me…

Much later, the next day she told us the dorm monitor was sound asleep and that her snoring at times was so loud it was surprising she did not wake up the whole house. She then related that she made it to her room just fine, got into bed without anyone suspecting what had just taken place.

That  morning at breakfast not a word was said by anyone in the dorm about what had happened the previous night…except one of the girls said she had the strangest dream about a man walking down the hall…everyone laughed, including the monitor; they all thought she was just being weird.

She said she simply smiled to herself a smile of satisfaction and relief knowing her secret was safe.

Some of the bravest men in the student body were silent heroes; never to be known and fortunately, never discovered. Life on campus could be very intense at time. But never was it boring…….

Know it or not, we all have a super hero, Jesus. He gave His all for us, including His life. Like a good and gracious friend, He is always looking out for our best interest. That does not mean life will be perfect. It does mean in the end we win and win big.

Eventually you will face a question, and that is, are you willing to listen to Him and allow Him to help? Will you let him guide you safely through the obstacles of life and on into eternity? The choice is yours, and only yours to make…choose wisely!