Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please,

Lift my husband up in prayer?

That would be great.

Because, ::sigh:: it is that time of year again.

The Qualifying Exam (QE) is among us. This Tuesday.

And if you remember correctly, he didn’t fare so hotly last year.

(If he had, he wouldn’t be taking it again this year.)

(And he wouldn’t have spent the past THREE MONTHS (that’s 12 weeks!  90 days!) studying eight hours a day.)

To sum up, the QE is as follows (taken from last year’s QE post):

Now, to be fair, I will tell you that Josh got to pick the questions on this test. And by that, I mean he got to pick the classes which the test will be over. And by that, I mean he had to choose the classes that fit within the guidelines of what he needs for his major. Or specialty. Or do they just call it a thesis? And he did get to pick that out. All by himself.

Anyway, the test is over four classes that Josh chose. There will be four questions. One question for each class. The professors who are creating these questions, for the most part (if not all), did not teach Josh. Some even used different text books. Or no text book at all. Some have severe pride issues that prevent them from creating questions that anyone could logically be expected to complete in the time given. He has four hours to take this test.

And these are not the questions we had in school. (Unless you also got your doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering, specializing in Robust Attitude Control with Fuzzy Momentum Unloading for Satellites Using Reaction Wheels… or something like that) They are not multiple choice. Or True/False. Not even the True/False where you have to correct the False statements or you only get half credit. They’re even worse than essay questions.

My husband has spent the past month and a half, from 9am to 6pm (shorter hours on the weekends, of course), studying equations that are longer than most of my college essays. Put together. He is memorizing these equations.

So if he could just pass?  And not have to do this again?  That would be great.  And did I mention this test is only offered once a year?  So, in order to, you know, move on with our life here, we kinda need to jump this hurdle.

I have no doubt in my mind that he is smart enough to ace this test – if he had the time to work as meticulously has he normally does.  It’s the time constraints that stress us out.

So I will be praying that

• He feels at peace and not stressed before, during, and after the test.
• He is able to remember all he has studied without hesitation.
• He will work fast enough to solve the problems within the given time.
• His speed doesn’t interfere with his accuracy.
• His accuracy doesn’t interfere with his speed.
• HE WILL PASS.

And if you could, too?  Just one of you?  Because where ever two or three come together in [His] name, He is with us!