Faith is an AMAZING thing isn't it

It is, and its even better if you realize what a blessing that you have been given when you do have Faith.  Faith is engrained in the fabric of my being, and I am very proud to admit it.  But with Faith comes trials and tribulation, those little bumps in the road that trip us when we least expect it, but with Faith we can make sure that those little bumps don't migrate to massive mountains.

My Faith has been challenged, anyone that has Faith has been challenged but it is of the utmost importance that we indeed do not let those challenges end our Faith.

I think as a child I had Faith, I believed in God, Jesus, I prayed every night, and I believed that everything around me was of God's hand and plan.  As I got older, the Sunday School that I attended at the Methodist Church began to bore me, hey I was a 12 -13 year old kid, I knew EVERYTHING.  My mom wanted me to go to Sunday School and in the summer she would drop me off at Bible Camp, but I found ways to disappear.

After my parents divorced and we moved into town, it became very simple to ditch Bible Camp and Sunday School, I walked to Sunday School so I just moseyed around, once again knowing I knew everything.  Sure.

As a youth I thought that it was such a good idea to hate anyone of color, religion, country of origin, or for any other reason I saw fit for that matter, and I used that hate to reinforce my brewing anger.  I knew nothing of the Bible, I had no idea how the Church was formed or even more than one or two of the Apostles, but I did "know" that the Jews killed Jesus and I think the way I knew that little nugget was through either a family member or a school friend.

Jesus was always with me, I know he was because I have always had a Bible, and any time I saw a Bible that was being given away, I picked one up and although I only entered its pages when I needed something, He was there, listening.

I made it through my youth and a chunk of my adult life as a racist jerk, assuming that no one other than those of my ethnicity were viable people, and I used that hate to mentally assault some people that never deserved any of it.  I had a friend, she is Jewish and for some ignorant reason, I decided to make her life Hell.  Complete, utter Hell, and there was no reason or justification for it, well other than blind stupidity.

Its interesting for me to reflect back because I always knew it was wrong, and every time I was abusive to this person, I felt extreme guilt and shame.  He was trying to fill my heart with compassion, my mind with intelligence and my soul with common sense, He knew I needed Him.  Somewhere along the line I became more compassionate, I had stopped drinking, I had asked the Lord to help me and He did.  I found a power I never realized existed, I knew it did, but I just never seemed to notice the power that surrounded me.

I decided one day to just give myself to God, I picked up that little Gideon Bible and read that little prayer and I asked to be forgiven of my sin.  Following that little prayer, I tried to get my life back on track but as any man that has ever tried to find Christ, I wandered.  Again.  Like the lost lamb, I went off trying to become a better man, and I decided to approach the subject of my stupidity so long ago and I asked her to forgive me.

Pain is a terrible thing, it makes every person no matter how strong or weak, how tall or small feel like something less than they ever were, or could be and regardless of my personal testimony to the center of my hatred, she didn't wish to accept that.  I understood where she was indeed coming from and even though I thought I could understand her pain, I really never could.  Honestly I never thought she would accept my apology, I know if anyone had treated me in a similar fashion, I would do the exact same thing.  Her pain is real and for me to think that just a simple apology is not a strong enough tonic to wash away the pain and the Hell she went through.

As always seems to be the case in my life, I wandered away, I began to drink again and this time I decided to become an alcohol professional and I succeeded in a fashion that would have made Henry VIII proud.  This was the first step in my stupidity, my relapse if you will and relapse I did.  Through all of this I did fix my drinking problem, met my wife and we started a family.  I found a job with a company I swore I would retire from, and then tragedy struck.

My wife's mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, and shortly after she arrived at the University of Iowa Hospital we all made it down to the chapel to say a prayer for her, and that's when something captured my attention, a little Gideon Bible.  I picked up that little book once again, and I sat down and I opened it.

Blindly I opened that little book and I looked down and I began to read Acts 2:21, "And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."  To steal a line from a contemporary comedian, it was as if someone told me "Here's your sign".  Its odd really but the moment I heard that verse in my own head, it made sense, and the most amazing calm fell upon me, I knew that everything would be okay.

As the calm began to wash over me, I began to understand that the Lord heals in ways we do not necessarily agree with, but he does heal.  My mother in law was going to be okay, she knew the Truth, she knew and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and I knew all would be well.

Doris passed away, cancer to a very lively, vibrant and loving person, God gained an angel, and He kept his promise, she was healed.

My faith has been tested before, during and since that day I found that little Gideon Bible, and I know it will be tested again.  Faith is an amazing thing isn't it.