The Story of My Journey
It was the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who said, "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.” With that said, it is understandable how I felt my life had been a paradox, and finally so much coming into focus. As much as a paradox defies common sense it also holds several hidden truths, and I had come to see many of those hidden truths as I looked in the rearview mirror of my life.
To begin, let us look at a short portion of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” (Romans 5:20 NIV). A paradox this is, for sure! But what Paul was trying to accomplish by saying this was, no matter how far the people fell into sin, the grace of God was more forgiving and more powerful than the sin. Grace always has the final word over sin.
Grace, having the final word over sin, was one of the hidden truths I had to learn as I looked in my rearview.
Much had taken place as I traveled through childhood, adolescence, teen years and then, before I knew what happened, whoosh…I became an adult with children of my own. Wow, it seemed liked a quick trip but the hurts, pains, and traumas of the many years had taken their toll. Fast forward, several decades, and the time was June 2006. My life, at that point, was a chaotic mess and spiritually I was far, far away from my faith in Christ. But….
But…that is where my life changed. A road trip in the Smoky Mountains became the catalyst for what I called My Road to Damascus and the inspiration for writing about my faith journey, God, What’s Next? A Question, A Leap of Faith!
I wrote God, What’s Next? A Question, A Leap of Faith! because I felt it in my heart, I had a “calling from Christ” to tell my remarkable story. At a time in my life when I was so distant from my faith, I chose to take a road trip to visit my children. On this road trip I would have a spiritual encounter with the Holy Spirit, who would light a fire in my soul, and I would rediscover my faith in Christ.
I am sure there are many who, for varied reasons, chose to walk away from their faith, maybe early in life like me, not realizing at that time they were walking away from their life’s true Compass, their North Star! My hope is my book gives just one person, the inspiration to reconnect with their faith and Jesus Christ.
I pushed Christ away from my life for many years, until I needed Him the most. And at that point in my life, with tears in my eyes I cried out for Jesus to help me and He was there. After all those years of me pushing him away, He was there. The prophet Isaiah said, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10 NIV).
About Don
I’ve lived in Oklahoma since July 2002, moving from the Chicago suburbs with a job transfer, coming with my now former-wife and my daughter. It took me a while to acclimate from Chicago life to OKC, but once I did, I was “hooked.” I am also a voice actor and a semi-retired accountant. I rode a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for many years and traveled many cross-country road trips mostly to Southwest Florida and the Keys. Past and current activities have included dancing, cooking, baking, reading, volunteering at my church in various ministry roles. Favorite country music artist is Kenny Chesney, and all-time favorite rock/blues band Allman Brothers Band. And as a member of the Baby Boomer generation, I am a Counselor of Life to many.
