My mother reminded me and my
two younger siblings (Kim and Jim) a lot of her favorite Bible
verse when we were young. Looking back, I believe it was my mother’s way of
giving her children the strength of her heavenly Father in whatever life might
throw at them as they aged.
When I was five in the summer of 1968 in the
living room of my family home in Whitehall, OH, I kneeled by the family couch.
It was there my mother showed me how to become a Christian. I chose to ask
Jesus into my heart. In the winter of the previous year, my father had made an
important decision that had a profound effect on our family of five. We joined Fellowship
Baptist Church in Columbus, OH. This was the church of my youth that gave me the
biblical stability I would need in the future.
God has always pointed out important lessons I needed to know if I was willing to listen (or provided blessings I didn’t know I needed). At the death of my father in June of 1978 (I was14) and my brother in February of 1992, I was reminded in both situations to let those I love know that I cherished them before death could unexpectedly end their life.
God has always pointed out important lessons I needed to know if I was willing to listen (or provided blessings I didn’t know I needed). At the death of my father in June of 1978 (I was14) and my brother in February of 1992, I was reminded in both situations to let those I love know that I cherished them before death could unexpectedly end their life.
From 1994 to 2002, my wife and I experienced
8 miscarriages. I was 31. I learned several important lessons: We were blessed
to birth one adorable daughter. Some couples had not been given the opportunity
of a child. I believe our miscarriage children are waiting in Heaven for my
wife and me. It is comforting to know that the children’s grandfather and uncle
are watching over them. I used to think our miscarriages were a punishment from
God. The older I become my opinion has changed to believe that God allowed this
privilege to happen to us because He entrusted us to help encourage other couples
going through the same experience. We have been faithful to do that.
Seven years later in May of 2009, at the age
of 45 I was diagnosed with cancer. This affected my whole family as well as changed the direction of my life.
I medically
retired from my long career with the federal government. I learned that I could
not control what was happening in my body. God had complete power over the
outcome of this situation. Here are some blessings I gained from my Lymphoma-Leukemia.
During this time, I was able to be at home to
see my daughter leave and come home from middle school. I wrote and published a
book of modernized Bible stories called, They’re
Just Like Us. I enjoyed the generosity of individuals willing to help me in
my time of need. I found more time to volunteer. God has kept us financially
solvent throughout this challenge. My family adopted 2 of our 3 Chihuahuas. Chico
and Rosco were good company when I was at home alone and undergoing
chemotherapy. Finally, God has cured me from my cancer.
In December of 2014, God spoke to my heart
about a job that He needed me to do. It would provide me with a purpose in my
life. My heavenly Father communicated
that with this second chance of life He’d given me that He wanted me to
minister to people with my talents of encouragement, education, and reasoning.
My method to do this would be a blog I would write called Encourage Me.
In September 2019, my daughter will be serving
in Ghana, Africa, for her a 16 month internship as a missionary. God has
blessed us with a young woman with a heart to follow God. I would not have
thought I would be a father of a missionary (or a possible future pastor). She
is a junior at Bethany Global University in Minnesota. I am both proud of and nervous
for Allena. God is teaching me more to trust Him to provide for my daughter and that
He will keep her safe in this journey
that will mature her more to His likeness. Allena has always been on loan to my wife and me to parent as a gift from our
heavenly Father.
At 55, I am a man that is constantly in
change as I seek to better myself. I do my best to be open to what I feel my
heavenly Father needs me to do. The question I want to ask you to consider is:
“Are you willing to be available to God when He needs you?”
“Your testimony is the story of your encounter with God and what role He has played throughout your life. Your testimony is the story of your encounter with God and what role He has played throughout your life. So many times I have struggled with the meaning of my testimony. Thank God. “(Anonymous)
“I’m not a Christian because I’m strong, and have it all together. I am
a Christian because I’m weak, and admit I need a Savior.”
(iBelieve.com)[i]
[i] My five-minute testimony was presented at a Men’s Breakfast on Saturday morning, May 18, 2019, at CenterPoint Gahanna Church in Gahanna, OH
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