My Life Story

I was born in 1959 in a small insignificant town in the Southern part of the USA. I was born into a family of twelve, although I wouldn’t know this until many years later. My brother and I were with the family for only four months, when the mother up and left. Shortly thereafter, I and my brother were adopted in Brunswick, Ga. having been taken away by the then infant Department of Social Services, and introduced to our new mother and father. I having had a bad case of projectile vomiting was in serious trouble. My brother who was adopted with me was fine. I would not find out about the other brothers and sisters until I was grown.

Somewhere around the time I had reached eight or so years of age I experienced my first vision. One evening returning to my bedroom the wall disappeared. Where the wall had been was a man sitting upon a stage. He sat in a chair at the edge of the stage putting his hands upon the heads of those passing by beneath them.

As I watched these people walk beneath him, as he laid his hands, upon them, I noticed that the man was me! Just older! It was obvious that he was in some kind of ministry. I thought all of this very unusual, because I had never seen anything like what I saw. All I knew about ministry at this time was what I learned in the United Methodist Church. In the 60’s you can rest assured nothing like that was going on in the Methodist Church.

I was by definition a tenacious child, but about what I did not know. In the early 70’s upon turning twelve I took my first steps into business ownership, I built a shop in my parent’s backyard and began repairing lawnmowers. It was a great income for a teenager, perhaps too good. As most coming of age young people, sin lurked at the doorsteps. By 1977, I was an aspiring teenage alcoholic, complete with blackouts. Even at this tender age the world had shown its web of deceit, lies, and drama.

I will always be indebted to a caring science teacher whose name memory has unfortunately long forgotten, for his introducing me to the living Christ.  As most of us have heard of Christ, I was no different, having grown up, as I mentioned in church.  But this humble man was the first person; I had met who really to me seemed to have a relationship with this Jesus the God/Man. I am sure there must have been other people I had contact with, but none that I knew, seemed to have the kind of feelings exemplifying a real relationship with Jesus. So I began to talk with him between classes.

On one particular day, after thinking about a text of scripture in Ecclesiastes, "Vanity of vanity, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity."(Ecclesiastes 1:2) I was moved while reading this by a war of sorts that seemed to be going on within myself; it was as if, evil was determined to drag my soul along with it.   It literally was evil vying within me for my own soul, it had the opposite effect. It scared the “hell out of me.” I returned the next day to talk again with my teacher.

I eagerly waited for the class to end, knowing I then would have time to speak about the struggle I had felt the night before in my soul.

When the moment arrived, I dashed from my desk to where he stood. I began to relate the struggle I had felt and he asked me if I would pray and receive Christ. I wanted to but could not speak. I had become dump; I was not able to open my mouth to speak in any manner! Seeming to understand this strange occurrence, he pointed directly at me and spoke commandingly to a devil, one which I could not see. He told the devil to go in the name of Jesus! Immediately I cried at the top of my voice, “Jesus”! I knew not what to say, only crying out to Jesus, the one I knew, who alone could rescue me from the war which had only momentarily ago,  rendered me unable to speak. As I heard myself cry out, I became aware of the darkness within my soul. It was as if, I was looking inside of myself as some kind of spectator. As I surveyed the vastness of this darkness, I became cogent of the fact that in the middle of this vast darkness there was a pinpoint of light which began to expand at ever increasing velocity, until it appeared as a supernova and burst forth out of every part of my being. Leaving my extremities at what seemed to me to be the speed of light.

I staggered a few feet and recovered my composure. I was stunned. I certainly had no point of reference for what I had just experienced.  The years to come would of course show the vast changes which had occurred. I no longer was an alcoholic nor an addict of any kind from that moment forward. I later learned that the “old man” had died and the “new man” had been born. I had been “born again” and would never be the same. It’s now 37 years later and I can say it was “the defining moment of my life”.

As I stood there in deep contemplation of what had happened inside of me I looked up toward the wall in front of me. As I did, I saw with my eyes wide open Jesus comes walking into the room. From what seemed out of nowhere he appeared! He stood only a few feet from me. The light in the room paled from what seemed to light emanating from his very presence. I was all of a sudden struck with a fear, a feeling that I could do only one of two options. I could run or fall at His feet. I chose to fall at His feet, if I had not made Jesus Lord before now, I certainly recognized His awesome right, to be Lord of all, and humbly, “fell to the floor”!  In great awe, I stayed face down upon the floor for what seemed a very short period of time. When just as suddenly, as He had appeared, He disappeared. He had said nothing nor had I asked anything. I could not have formulated a question had I even had the time; His presence was so great that even the thought of a question did not nor would it have occurred.