Somewhere along the way, Jesus lured me back to life. I won’t do the whole testimony thing here, you’d be bored. But I will tell you how it’s impacted me in the last decade.
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Somewhere along the way, I found a better way to live. I’m so far from perfect that you can’t even measure the gap. But I’m also so much closer to making it as a decent human that I can see the skyline from where I stand. Or kneel. I spend a lot of time praying. I still curse a lot, but I also pray a lot. I only wish they were in an inverse ratio to each other, but I’m working on it.
I have seen what the alternatives are quite starkly. One old shipmate is a face on the national news, indicted on multiple felony counts of a nefarious nature. It could have been me. By the Grace of God it isn’t. But I am bright enough to realize that it very well might have been if only a few things were different in my life. Choices, not very important at the time, were made that put me on the path out of trouble, not deeper into the morass. I consider that a blessing.
Not only do I have a great church family at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, but I had entered ministry work with my wife on an tangential basis years ago. We’ve been feeding the homeless, handing out blankets when it’s cold, and doing mission trips for years. There’s something pretty cool about seeing one of those blankets being used to keep someone warm. We also try to support the church in its work, and have become regular tithers.
Recently, in a move that surprised us, we were selected by our pastor to head the Overseas Missions Ministry. We didn’t ask, we didn’t seek it – heck, we didn’t know it existed. But it turns out it was created with us in mind. We accepted.
I’m not writing this to “rah-rah” what we’ve done. I’m writing this to let you know that no matter what kind of loathsome sinner you are, that can change. I’m proof. (My wife, on the other hand was never loathsome. Just me.)
How do you do it? You open your mind, and your heart, to God. You pray. You go to church and Bible study. You talk with others of your faith, and learn all that you can about how they tackle their lives. You step out and go to places like Haiti. You go out in the cold and make sure your brother isn’t hungry and cold.
Do those things, and do them with a humble heart, and you have a shot at some of the solace I’ve found.
Now, if you’re up for a trip to the Third-world in 2019, and want to do it as the hands and feet of Jesus, drop me an email. (Or, a comment – I won’t publish it) You might just be taking the first step in a road that leads to Christ.
It’s a pretty good road.
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