Who Am I?
…and what has my wife gotten me into?
When I met Barbara in Alaska in 1985, I had no idea where this relationship would take me. There were many more “differences” than “sames” in our lives prior to meeting. In fact, the only things we shared in our backgrounds are that we both went to the Episcopal church as children, and both our mothers stayed home to raise the family. Other than that, our upbringings and lifestyles were completely different!
Barbara always went to church and although I didn’t attend at the time, I always encouraged her to continue to practice her faith. Over time, Barbara moved to New England and we got married. I had been married before, so it wasn’t easy for her as a young woman with two stepchildren. In the process of settling down, we found a church that we both liked, finally settling on the Covenant church in Attleboro, Massachusetts. By now I was a regular church-going man. I attended faithfully and was involved with bible studies and teaching Sunday school to middle school girls.
We knew we were going to move to the West Coast at some point in our marriage, and we finally made the big move in October, 1999. The move was very difficult for me. I had been a New Englander for almost 50 years and it was as if I’d moved to a foreign land! People were different here than I was used to!
In my struggle to find my place, I got involved in multi-level sales marketing with quarterly conferences. Each conference also hosted a Sunday morning all-denominational service. The leader of this enterprise led the service, and at the end of the service, he gave an altar call. I felt an overwhelming urge to go forward, something that had never before entered my mind. Before going forward, I asked myself why I wanted to go forward. I determined it was for me - and not because the leader was asking. I accepted Jesus that night. When I walked into my house the next day, Barbara looked at me and asked, “What happened to you?” I told her Jesus happened to me and I have never looked back.
So when Barbara said she believed God had asked her to write a book, I was right behind her, encouraging her all the way. Notice I said, “behind her”, because that is where I like to be. I do not like the spotlight, but I do like being the behind-the-scenes person who helps get things done, and to back Barbara’s play so we can make a success of our ministry and bring Jesus to as many people as we can.
This ministry idea is new to both of us, yet we clearly heard God ask us to step out in faith and let Him lead the way. Time and time again, I have found that…
I need to move out of the way to allow God to work
So, I’ll keep pressing on, stepping out of the way to allow Jesus to lead.
My favorite scripture is the prayer that God gave to Aaron through his younger brother Moses to bless the Israelites:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Number 6:24-26, NASB)
To me, this sums up everything about what God wants to give us as we live more deeply into a relationship with Him.
Living Beyond the Noise is not a place where you can hide or remove yourself from the world. It is living for Jesus without letting the world overwhelm you. It is a place where Jesus guides and directs each of our steps.
Go Beyond:
How would you describe your pathway to Jesus? Has it been straightforward, or filled with side trips? What would cause you dive in more deeply to sustain your relationship with Jesus?
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Feel free to share your response in the comments below!
