Hi
A while back I wrote a story about Faith vs Evolution. At the end of the post I wrote that I would put my confidence in Faith. I actually had a very good reason for saying that, even though I did not mention it at the time. I have been thinking about it, so I thought I would explain why I said that. What I'm going to write here, Is only one instance where Faith has dramatically changed the course of my life. There are many times I can refer to today, However for now I will just bore you with the one OK? This is a true story.
In 1983, I was working in New Jersey. I had a good job. We contracted out to Major Automotive and Aerospace Firms around the world. The job was developing, testing, and producing Mass Fuel flow consumption modules, that would set up the various engines. Everything from Motorcycles and cars, to Jets and Rockets. Great job. The firm is no longer in business now, but that's not important. I'm just referring to what It was.
Anyway, in 1983, I decided to move closer to my family. They lived about 60 miles north of me. I had done a lot of thinking about it. When the time came to make the decision, I felt I was doing the right thing. So I took my severance and and went off to live with my family. The only thing I didn't actually do was secure another job. I was young and made a stupid mistake. Please don't ever do that. always plan ahead.
After being with my family for about 3 months, and the severance gone, and finding no job except the Car wash of all places, I began to wonder if I had done the right thing. Yes and No.
Now I have no money, no car, no job. I am pounding the pavement. Getting more frustrated by the second.
Now, I would just like to add something here. Several years before this happened, I had found myself in a bad situation. I found myself in a position where the only answer was to try what people had been telling me about for most of my life. Faith. Faith in God, and Faith in Prayer. At that time, I was no different from a lot of people. I paid no attention to it, and actually wanted nothing to do with it. It was just not the popular thing to do, and I avoided it. I even used to joke about it, for whatever reason. Peer pressure, being stubborn, close minded, and all that. That changed one day, when I had finally reached the point where it was the only answer, so I tried it. Well, it changed my life. Completely turned it around. Believe me, I was the last person I or anyone else would have ever expected to do that. When I did, it was just an amazing thing. It still is. I found the power of Faith and prayer. That however is another story. Not for now. I just needed to put that in so you would understand the rest of this.
So I start to pray about the situation. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to preach to you, I would not be any good at it anyway. However, I needed to add that to make my point. So I get up one morning and think, "I will have faith that I will find a job". So I say a prayer and off I go. On foot.
Pretty boring so far huh? It gets better. After a day of walking in the hot sun, I get to the edge of town, and see this big warehouse. It's like 750,000 square ft. I go to the guard house and ask for an application. That's as far as I got. I filled it out and left it with them and went home.
The very next day I got a call from them. It seems the night before, 8 Admins had resigned. They needed help right away, and had just received my application. I of course accepted. I thought it was a major coincidence. I could not have timed that better if I had planned it to happen that way. Now I had to take a physical and get steel toe work boots, which I didn't have and could not afford. I could not work there without them. So, I thought about it for a few hours, said another prayer and went for a walk. I had exactly 15 Dollars. Talk about taking a step in Faith? That is just what I did that day. I started walking. Had no Idea what was about to happen.
I walked downtown and was looking in windows of Stores, Till something caught my eye. A Used TV Store. You know the kind. Old TVs in the faded dull windows. Clutter inside. Full of old parts and stuff. So I go inside and the guy says, "May I help you?" So I respond by saying, "Do you sell steel toe shoes?" Remember, I'm in a TV store. I probably had about as much a chance of finding steel tip shoes here, as I would a Cheeseburger. I actually felt stupid even asking that. However, I was in for a surprise.
I will remember what happened next as long as I live. This man says, "there is a pair in the back room brand new size 10.5. (my size). I go dig in the back room and find them and return to the manager with the shoes. I said I didn't have a lot of money, but I needed them for work. So He says, "15 dollars will do it". Now I couldn't have been more surprised If I grew wings. That was just how much I had. I could not have planned that any better. It was like it was meant to be. The first place I passed, A TV store, of all places, I went in and found the very thing I needed, for exactly the right price. So now I had the shoes.
The same kind of coincidence 2 days in a row? Or was it something more? Was this the actual proof of an answer to Prayers? Well what else could it have been? That kind of stuff doesn't just happen. So now I have my new job. I have my passed drug tests and all that, and I have the Shoes I needed. Pretty much all in a day. Every single thing I mentioned in my prayers. Simple honest prayers. I didn't think coincidence. I knew it was more. I believe that to this day. I have too. What else could it have possibly been?
I started my job. A Temp on 3rd shift. Data Entry. Paid next to nothing, But I was working. I got full time 11 months later, and was put in charge 4 years later, being paid more than I had dreamed. This was no coincidence my friends. I found myself in a position to personally sponsor my town 100 tutors to teach people to read, and finance a major part of a soup kitchen for 10 years, for them to eat. As I said before in another post here. I did that cause it was the right thing to do at the time. I ended up the largest single contributor to a Major charity in the History of my county. I found myself standing on a stage getting Humanitarian Awards for 10 years in a row. Every time, every year, I could not believe I was standing there. I knew I could not do this on my own, and would have never tried. This was God answering a simple prayer, and working. To this day, I am convinced it was a Miracle. There I was, Me, doing that. I did not deserve it. When I think of all those people, Getting food and learning to speak and read English, I am so thankful to God, for answering me, and then doing all that. It just shows, You never Know.
This actually reminds me of something I heard once. The story of the man who was stuck deep in a well, hanging on to a branch sticking out from the side. Hanging on for dear life in the dark, trying not to fall. Looking up he hears a voice saying, "let go! trust me, let go!" There was someone at the top of the well looking down, who could see all the way to the bottom of the well where the man holding on could not see in the dark. The man hears, but still is too afraid to let go. Afraid he will fall. Finally when he runs out of strength, he has to let go of the branch. When he does, his feet touch, and he is standing on solid ground. He was hanging only six inches from the bottom, and could not see it in the dark. The man at the top could see that and was trying to tell him the whole time.
All he had to do was to listen and trust what he was saying. Sometimes, that is all we have to do too, just listen, have some Faith, and let go. That is what I did back then, and it worked for me. That's all I know. Thought I would throw that in there. Anyway back to what I was saying.
I'm not bragging, Don't get me wrong here. That's not my style. I even tried to keep that quiet, and did for a few years. The Charity wanted to recognize me for what I did, and so did the company I worked for. I finally agreed. Besides, if I didn't mention that part, this would lose some credibility. It's just part of the story that's all. I'm no better than anyone else is. I needed to have the moral of this story sink in. Great things grow out of nothing, And ordinary people like me can do more than we can imagine. It all begins with that first little step. God does indeed work in mysterious ways. Without a prayer and some Faith, None of that would have taken place. I would have never in a million years done anything like that on my own. I also do not take any credit for that. I still don't fully understand. But, it happened. The details of all that are also another story. I will make it a point to write about that. It is all just Incredible.
What I'm trying to say here is this. I took a step in faith and moved. I took another step and Got my job, Then another and another. coincidence? Well looking at it with just pure facts, It's possible. I certainly don't have all the answers. All I can do is tell the story. Whether it was planned or not, well, It is what it is. The facts can just speak for themselves. All I know is that I was in trouble, I tried having some faith, and everything changed. Not just for me, but for a lot of people. So please, come to your own conclusions. All I know is, That's what happened to me. This was planned, and not by me either. As I said, God does work in mysterious ways. We don't really need to understand why. Just follow your heart my friends. follow your heart. Sometimes that is not always easy, I know. Usually though, our very first logical reaction to a problem is the Heart telling us the correct thing to do. Even though we know it is, we don't always act on that logic, and do the easy thing instead, because the easy thing usually is, well, it's easy. Maybe even more fun, or whatever. Deep inside though, we know what we should do. Or should have done. It is Human nature to take the most attractive way out. Some of the hardest choices we will ever make, have the answers right in front of us. We just need to listen, think, and decide. And it's not always going to be easy. As I look back, I can see that now. My heart was right all along. I just needed to learn the Language of the Heart. I could have avoided a whole lot of pain. Learning the language of the heart, it seems, is the first key to understanding, and Wisdom. As I have said, Wisdom is not always for those who may have it. It is for the ones who hear it. I wish I could have seen that when I was 22 years old, but living in the real world, it just does not work that way I guess. We all have to live and learn. That's life. But if I could, I would look back at me at 22, and say, "Let Go! Trust me. Let Go"! But that's just me.
Well that's a long story made short. All I can say is, no matter how bad things look, have Faith.
Peace G
