Whatever Happened to Me?

Whatever happened to me?

In 1971 I decided to run for president in 2000 because I would be 37 and new you had to be 35 to run for president.  From that moment forward I . . . did absolutely nothing about becoming president.

In the late 1970’s I decided I would become a football player so I could get a college scholarship and play in the NFL.  From that moment forward I . . . did absolutely nothing about becoming a football player.

In 1981 I decided I would become an engineer because engineering was a worthwhile occupation and would make decent money.  From that moment forward I . . . took a semester’s worth of engineering and science classes and realized it wasn’t for me.

In 1984 I decided I would become an anti-trust lawyer defending large corporations from the government.  From that moment forward I . . . actually went to a really great law school where I learned I wasn’t cut out to be a corporate lawyer at a large law firm.

In 2011 I told my wife of 27 years that it was time for me to start training to become a pastor, so I packed her, our stuff, our 13 year  old son and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, leaving behind our 25 year old son, family, friends, church, fantastic job, and a home to a place where I knew no one and about which I knew almost nothing.  Guess what?  I actually did what I decided to do. 

Funny how God moves, even when you’re old and out of touch.  I don’t wear skinny jeans (the thought is, frankly, disturbing), my glasses are round with thin wire rims, my beard is trimmed, so it is neither stubble nor Spurgeon-like, I don't have an I-Phone or a Mac (PC guy here) and, frankly, I don’t like Starbucks coffee.  Yet here I am in Louisville, closing in on finishing a Master of Divinity and contemplating maybe a Th.M. or Ed.D.  Crazy?  Insane?  Perhaps.

Here’s what’s even more spectacular – God isn’t finished with me yet. 

I teach the elderly every Sunday morning at a local assisted living facility and preach once a month at a local nursing home.  I tell these folks all the time that while their heart is still beating they have something to offer God and can make a difference in the kingdom.  One of those people is a fellow named Ray, who is 93.  His mind is still sharp and he’s forgotten more about Jesus than I know.  He’s also kind, funny, and thoughtful.  And I’m “teaching” him?  Yet, God has called me to be there at this time and in this place and guess what?  I’m doing it!  I’m actually doing it.  No deciding then not doing anymore.

I also teach some local home-schooled high-schoolers.  Wow, never would have thunk it.  Yet there I am every Tuesday, trying to pour into them whatever I can both in the subjects I teach (speech and government) and spiritually.  I get to teach on-line students through Regent University, where I'm not merely allowed, but actually required to make thinking about God and the Bible part of the coursework.  Amazing! Will it matter to any of them?  I don’t know.  Yet, God has called me to be there at this time and in this place and guess what?  I’m doing it!  No deciding then not doing anymore.

Will I ever have the impact of some great preacher or pastor?  I don’t know.  Maybe, maybe not.  Am I some great man of God to be emulated?  No.  I’m pretty ho-hum average.  So what does this “deciding and doing” really mean?  It just means God has found a place for me to serve where He is using the skills and abilities He already gave me long ago.

You see, God didn’t intend for me to be president (THANK YOU!!), nor a football player (at 115 pounds in high school I would have been crushed), nor an engineer (oh the agony of doing math problems day after day), nor a corporate lawyer (although I was a decent litigator for many years).  God intended for me to be just what I am right now, where I am, with the people around me, doing what I’m doing.

God apparently knows what He’s doing with me better than I do!  It’s a strikingly weird, yet confoundingly comforting thought.