Testimony, Part 2

Now that you’ve heard how I came to following Jesus, I will tell you just how difficult that path of following Him can be, but also how rewarding:

Heather and I had been praying about our desire to return to the Southeast, nearer to family. I had tried since about mid-2000 to find something, with a couple of interviews that never led anywhere. Well, not but about a month after we started going to church again, I got serious interest from a company in Charleston, SC. Excited at the prospect, I was also determined not to circumvent God’s plans for my life (which incidentally cannot be done IMO, but I will explain later). So then the next hurdle we knew we’d have to consider was selling our house, which we did not want to leave if we stayed in the DC area. For whatever reason, I now think Spirit-led, we decided just to go ahead and list it. Things stayed in limbo a couple of months, then I was called for a follow-up interview. It was a promising step for the job, but we hadn’t seen much interest in the house. Nonetheless, I went to Charleston for a few days to interview. As I was getting ready to board my flight back home, Heather informed me over the phone that we now had an offer on the house. Coupled with a really good interview, I felt this was a good indication of God’s plans for us. This was confirmed for us when I got the job offer and we settled on the house. We moved to Charleston in April 2001, for what we hoped would be a long and prosperous time.

Shortly after moving to Charleston, we were driving around checking out the beautiful oak-lined road out of West Ashley. It was Sunday afternoon, and while we knew we’d want to get plugged into a church again soon, we weren’t thinking too much about it that early into the move. However, as we drove by a local middle school, Heather felt a draw to it. There was a sign indicating that a community church met there on Sundays, and so we decided to trust it as a God-prompt, and the next Sunday we attended Palmetto Community Church. It quickly became apparent to us that this is where we were supposed to be, just a contentment of the Spirit within us. We did not visit any other churches, we joined there shortly after. It was a close-knit group (still is) of about 30-40 regular attendees at the time, with a lively and eccentric preacher from Cajun Louisiana. It was easy for us to get involved and quickly become part of the church family there, and for a while it seemed like life was just about perfect, save for our unsuccessful attempts to start a family. It was during this time that 9/11 occurred, and only served to strengthen our belief that we were where we were supposed to be, and I experienced some changes in thinking. Previously a moderate liberal in political thinking, I quickly developed a more conservative/libertarian view on issues, based in part on 9/11 events, and more importantly on God’s pressing. It was during this time that I gave up my stubborn fight against tithing, and followed this act of obedience. We saw God start to work more in our lives, but not the way we expected.

Perhaps falsely interpreting a sense of permanency, we backed out of our apartment lease (with some difficulties) and purchased a home. We loved the house, it fit our needs really well – and I even devoted one room as a “prayer room”. I still miss it, and one day when we get a home again, that will again be the arrangement. However, other aspects of our lives were going in way different directions. Heather had finally found a stable and reasonable job, we had made some very strong friendships at the church, and then suddenly my job situation turned upside down (I should have seen it coming – I was not a good fit). Feeling that stress, my relationship with Heather grew strained, and I retreated to myself a lot. When I lost the job after a little over a year, I spiraled downward rapidly. At first, I was in denial and determined that I would get another job in the field quickly (not in Charleston – IT job are rare). But we had been in our house only 6 months, and so something had to be done. I looked for jobs frantically with little success, all the while stating I just needed something other than minimum wage. Finally, I gave up on finding a professional position, and went to temp agencies. Again, after a couple of weeks of no bites, I really began to panic. I had gotten a job as a pizza delivery driver, and had expanded some hours at a nearby resort that had seasonal employment.

Needing a full-time job, I went to the hardware store across the highway from our subdivision. Well, they wanted me, but they only paid minimum wage. Funny how God works – He does have a way of doing that. So I took the job, and to this date still find it to be a rewarding experience, though it lasted only a week. But good luck for a change – one of the temp agencies had found me a job that paid twice as much. The hardware guys were very understanding, and I continued to go there often for chats and the occasional purchase. The temp work started at a cellular provider, and was to me fairly menial – data entry was easy but boring. But as the name suggests, it was temporary. I briefly thought I had a permanent job lined up at another company, but that fell through. My second temp assignment had me working for a government contractor, equally boring documentation work. They really liked my work and I began to mull the idea of working for them permanently.

Again, though, God had other plans. So while my work situation had finally stabilized, we were still financially struggling. At the same time, our church was faced with the need to move to a new location. We negotiated the lease of a warehouse suite, and started with voluntary construction, which is all we could afford. At first it was a blast, but over time it took its toll. Several families trickled out of the church, and it left the congregation wondering what the future really held. After we had been there for two years, we felt God pulling us away as well. But not to anywhere, it was an uncomfortable feeling that left me feeling like a deserter, but when God tells you to leave, you are wise to follow. We tried many other churches in the area, and never really found anything that felt like He was leading us to. We drifted, just wondering what would be next.

Meanwhile, we had taken on a house guest. Those prayer rooms, watch out for what God may have you do with them! I had befriended a jolly but down-on-luck mountain dude named Sparky. I had met him at a community band, and had convinced him to come and help out with worship at our church. Well, at one point he just had nowhere else to go, so we invited him to come stay with us. He was reluctant, never wanting to be a burden, but we insisted and so he finally gave in. It wound up being a very growing experience for all of us, as we had agreed to as Christian friends be both supportive and brutally honest. He and Heather and I had many deep intense discussions and times for spiritual growth and accountability. I never doubted that it was God’s plan all along for us to have that “prayer room” available for Sparky, and I was happy that God allowed us to be able to help a brother in need, though in the end I suspect he helped me even more. After all, he became one of our biggest supporters in what God had next in store for us. I am going to have to save that for a third installment of my testimony, though.

Testimony, Part 1

Well, after the excitement of last night, where at 12Stone's The Point we saw another sizable addition to Christ's kingdom (I counted at least 7) I figured it is a good time to put my testimony out there. Never know how God may use it. Anyway, here goes:

I grew up in a Lutheran household - for those of you not aware, the Lutheran denomination is the second-oldest Protestant group only to the Anglican/Church of England. Started with Martin Luther posting the 95 theses on the door of his church, and ended with him breaking from the Holy Roman Catholic Church and bringing the Word of God to the people, translating the first non-Latin version of the Bible. Back to my upbringing, though - I can't remember ever not believing in Jesus, His mission, and His victory. Never really doubted it - but I never made much of a personal connection either. I felt that I was doing good by going to church most Sundays, and praying at night. Not that there was anything wrong with those, but there is so much more to it, as I see now. I had friends in school who were more fired-up about the Kingdom than I, but I just didn't get it. We did not go to an evangelical church (but yes there are indeed evangelical Lutheran churches! My parents go to one now...)

Then came college, and like most college-age kids I questioned everything I had ever been taught. I pretty much stuck to my roots though, and went to my grandparents' church throughout my college years. But again, no deeper in relationship with God, and if anything got further away through other interests. Once I graduated, I got married to Heather 6 months later, and we moved away to Maryland for my first professional job almost immediately. I knew enough to know that God had worked the timing out just right with the marriage and job, and both Heather and I were determined to find a church in our new home. However, we came from vastly different backgrounds - her family was Southern Baptist but rarely attended church. We looked around for a while and settled on a compromise - a church that seemed somewhat foreign to both of us. While it was a wonderful church and a close-knit group, it still did not stimulate me enough to get a closer walk with Jesus, and as a result we eventually drifted away. However, I did sense the loss that came with not being a churchgoer.

Things began to change when my sister got me the book "Left Behind". Now I am not trying to endorse that book or say that I believe it to be prophetic as some would - but it does a good job of bringing to light the need for an authentic relationship with God. So there's that. Then on one visit home to Georgia, my mom mentioned concern about us not attending church anymore, and so of course I felt bad. But not really because she said, but because she had to. So I returned home and began looking, but this time out of my sphere of comfort. Baptist churches are rare up in Maryland, and at the time that would have been numero uno for making me uncomfortable!

I had always dismissed non-denominational churches as insincere or cultish, but truthfully I never had given them much thought. So I decided "what the heck, why not?" and attended Frederick Christian Fellowship in late 2000. The first message so messed with me that I brought Heather with me the next week (she had been unable to go with me first time, don't remember why). Well, it had a major impact on both of us, and God used that church, and the messages of Pastor Randy, to strip away the misconceptions I had about a Christian walk and recognize the importance of evangelism. So in February 2001 I rededicated my life to Christ and was baptized as a believer. Now God has done much with me since then, but I will save that part of my testimony for later, since for now at least I have told how I joined His side!

Naaman

So I am reading the story of Naaman, from 2 Kings 5. I have recently really enjoyed reading from the New Living Translation, because it phrases with a much more modern dialect. Anyhow, Naaman is the Aramite army commander, who despite his obvious military talent was also unfortunately afflicted with leprosy. He hears about the prophet Elisha through one of his wife's servants, and that he has been performing miracles in the name of God. So he seeks out Elisha for healing. But when he arrives at Elisha's, the prophet sends out a servant and tells him to go and bathe in the Jordan and he will be cleansed of the leprosy. Naaman was outraged, claiming that he should have been healed by Elisha personally and also stating that he believed the Jordan to be an inferior river to his own lands. Nice guy, huh? Luckily he had some good advisors who told him just to do it anyway. Short story is, he want, bathed in the river, and was healed. Talk about having to eat crow!

What I take away from this is - how often do we come to God wanting healing or whatever, and we are all set to tell God exactly how He should do it. But who are we to do so? Sure God could have healed Naaman by sending Elisha directly out to him, but instead He chose to have Naaman show some obedience. The same applies for all of us too. Rather than just expecting God to instantly fix everything, we should ask and listen for what He may want us to do to as well. It may not involve having to go and bathe in an inferior river, but it may be something equally unappealing to our desires. But if we are doing something for the Lord, we need to have joy and love in our hearts while doing so, despite what our nature leads us to feel.

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 1:6 (NIV)

About the Blog name...

It is a play on the word "blizzard" using my initials, BW. It also reflects my interest in weather as well as the randomness of the thoughts you will read here. I make no illusions to considering myself a "wizard", my scientific understanding is far from expert.

Clay...

Well, I must admit I didn't think much of what I'd write about first...but the ostensibly ridiculous random questions chosen for my profile finally came up with a gem! Seriously, water and dirt are ingredients of both mud and clay, yet the differences are staggering. Scientifically speaking (which I love to do) clay is a type of mud that has the ability to be molded and shaped, unlike regular mud, which is just messy. Yet clay can be formed into beautiful pieces of art, functional objects, or even weapons. God formed man from dirt, yet He made us into so much more. We are His clay, which He desires to mold into beautiful and unique creations, all for His glory...