I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, especially as a young man. I did a lot of the dumb things so many young people do. There's an old saying that "God watches over fools and drunks". Even though that statement is not Biblically correct, I believe it's true in my case. When I think about it, I'm amazed that I survived the seventies. I know God has forgiven me for those things, but they still weigh on me from time to time. More than anything, I think about the time I wasted when I could have been doing better things. I'm also glad that no one was hurt physically by my actions, although I hurt people in other ways, and I hurt myself most of all. So I say this to all young people: you're going to make mistakes, but do your best to think carefully about the consequences of your actions before you act. Ask yourself: is this something I will feel good about 30 years from now? That's a question I should have asked myself a lot more when I was younger.
In spite of all that, I still say "it's a wonderful life". Even when I believed he didn't exist, God was watching over me and he had a plan for my life. I know that because of so many key events in my life. I had parents who did their best to teach me right from wrong. I grew up in a small town so I got to know all of my classmates: rich, poor, black, white. We spent the day at school together and rode the school bus together. What a blessing it was to grow up that way because you learn that we're all just people. My parents pushed me to go to college. I wouldn't have met my wife if I hadn't gone to college, and we've been blessed with two wonderful sons. I went to engineering school because I didn't see anything else I was interested in doing. I fell backward into the aerospace business because of a random job conference letter I got in the mail, and consequently I've been steadily employed ever since I graduated from college. After I'd been working for a few years I started getting arrogant and thought I was somebody just because of my career and my income. That's when I found myself in a situation that forced me to take a long look at myself and my behavior. That led to me tutoring for the Rutherford County Adult Literacy Council, and the location I was assigned for tutoring was one of the local churches of Christ. That's how I met their education minister and started going to church there, which led to my baptism in November 1996, two months before someone close to me died suddenly and tragically. I see it clearly now: all the events in my life up to that point gave me the strength and faith to deal with that situation. There have been ups and downs since then, but I still see God at work in all things. As we read in Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
After reading all that, you might think I believe in predestination. Not at all. All along the way, life (and therefore God) has presented me with opportunities and I've made choices based on those opportunities. God has allowed Satan to tempt me as well, but I know that God "will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it". (1 Corinthians 10:13) So my choices are my own. I can't claim that God allowed Satan to tempt me beyond my ability to resist. Have I made bad choices? Absolutely (especially before I became a Christian), but even the bad choices gave me an opportunity to learn and grow. The good choices I made at key points in my life (going to college, getting married, going to that job conference instead of throwing the letter in the trash, etc.) had an uncertain future. Would I be able to make it through college? Would my marriage last? Would the aerospace business offer long term employment opportunities? My point is this: even though I wasn't sure of the outcome, I chose to take advantage of opportunities at key points in my life rather than walk away from them. I'm not sure I really understood how important some of those choices were at the time, but again, I didn't walk away from them.
When I think about those choices in that light, I am reminded of Abram (later known as Abraham). "Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him." (Genesis 12:1-4) God told Abram to go somewhere, and he went. He didn't know where he was going, but he went. Did he understand the full implications of his choice to obey God and the magnitude of God's statement "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed"? I doubt it. Nevertheless, "Abram went, as the LORD had told him". He chose to follow God and accepted the uncertainty associated with that choice, because he was certain that he was making the right choice. Following God is always the right choice. It took me almost 38 years to make that choice and I have never regretted it.
