Chapter 13: A Light On My Path

Page 35

It was an epiphany, a moment in my life when everything spiritual

came together and became crystal clear to me. I remember looking at the ceiling and telling God: “I get it Lord. I understand. From now on, You lead and I will simply follow.” It was a deep spiritual connection that was made from my heart to God’s heart. I acknowledged to God that all that I

am was not enough for this earthly life. I knew then that I needed His guidance and I gave my life to God.

I was baptized as a baby into the Lutheran faith. I was confirmed at

the age of 13 into the Lutheran faith. I remember that at my confirmation my stomach was ready to explode at the altar. I was nervous and had a sick feeling. I thought clearly at the time I wasn’t supposed to be there. How could confirmation cause such a sick feeling? I was confirmed at Redeemer Lutheran Church in spite of my ill physical feelings at the altar. I managed

to get through Lutheran confirmation in only eight weeks when my older sister Barbara spent two years in class. This always irritated my sister. I don’t know how I managed to get through on an accelerated basis. My mother must have pulled some strings, because I have no other answers. In

the Navy, I signed my pledge to Jesus Christ in the Gideon New Testament that I was given. I still have it.

However, neither my baptism, nor my confirmation nor my New

Testament pledge to Jesus Christ in the Gideon Bible penetrated the bowels of my soul [heart]. Nothing reached my heart; everything about God was only in my mind prior to the point in time of my surrender. When I told Jackie that I had found God, she asked me: “What took you so long?”

Life for me changed immediately. I picked up the Bible and read it from front to back, because I wanted to really know the God I had pledged to serve with my soul. I then got an Apocryphal Bible and read those books.

I have studied the Bible in depth ever since having now accrued thousands of hours of study over the course of 25 years. I have left the realm of mere study and now flow into His Spirit throughout the week. I have learned to rely upon Him for all my needs. So life changed immediately at the point of

that epiphany. Life has been a great adventure with God ever since that time. Jackie decided that I would be okay after all.