Life Change

I was raised in a home with virtually no church background at all. My mother took us to a Catholic church a handful of times when I was very small, but I don’t remember much about it.

I was a fervent non-believer when I was in high school. I remember thinking that science would eventually come up with the answers for everything. In fact, I said as much, and declared myself an atheist, in my senior year government class. The truth is, I had never been introduced to any Christian teaching and had simply never really considered any other alternatives.

In high school, I met my future wife. We married upon graduation. She was a believing Christian, but not very strong in her faith. I attended church services with her for a few years, but they meant nothing to me. In fact, I thought, even then, that the other “worshipers” were nothing but weak minded, mindless sheep. I thought they believed for a variety of reasons, but mostly, it was an emotional crutch. Looking back, even though I did not come to believe, I am thankful for the introduction to religion and to God.

We were married for fifteen years before we divorced. This was the lowest point of my life. The adage about being broken before one seeks was certainly true in my case. Before the divorce, I was quite confident in my abilities. I had made a way for my family without any help or college education. Suddenly, all I had worked for was gone. Materially, I was left with what would fit in my car. Relationally, all that was left, since most of my friends were her family, were work relationships.

While we were separated, but before the divorce was finalized, I had transferred to Virginia so that we could make one last attempt at saving our marriage. We thought this would be a good move for a variety of reasons. As it turned out, she returned to California and I stayed in VA. I was now completely alone and finances were nearly non-existent. I had nowhere to turn. I felt trapped in a job that I had to have, in order to pay child support, but that left nothing for me to live on. I couldn’t quit, and yet, I couldn’t survive; there were no options.

coiled spring, of anger and tension, built up inside of my chest; I was “ticking” waiting to explode at anything and everything. That day, the “spring” disappeared. I had a peace about all facets of my life. Financially, things were still a mess, but I was at peace with the situation and God made a way through it. Relationally, God led me to Valerie, who truly is a blessing. In some ways, I feel a bit like Job. God has restored so many of the things I lost, or in some instances, He has replaced them with much better.

I determined that I would follow Him wherever He wanted me to go and to do whatever He led me to. For the most part, I have been true to that vow. This has led to a variety of experiences, as can be seen on the attached resume, which have shaped and strengthened me. These experiences have all seemed to lead in the same direction; reinforcing certain characteristics and uncovering and broadening certain talents. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for the future and trust fully that He will use the talents and abilities He has been uncovering. My desire is to know His will as to where that may be and to give everything I have to His glory.