The whole of my college experience was formative for me. It was, without exception, the best time of my life. Being "on my own" allowed me to study not just for class, but to learn for myself who I was, what I believed, what I was all about.
But by the end of my college years, I'd reached another painful time of transition. A long term relationship that I'd thought would lead to marriage was broken. I was facing new challenges with the approach of graduation, including the "what now?" syndrome. I had written for a local paper, and sent a few resumes, but I couldn't get any peace about pursuing a journalism career, and it was very frustrating.
In March, 1987, many of those questions were answered, as I again sensed the Lord leading me into full-time ministry. This didn't occur in a vacuum. I was taking a special seminar class on Prayer taught by Dr. Leon Smith of Wingate College. He is one of the most spiritually sensitive men I've ever known. The class had been praying for and with me about the future, and in March, God confirmed his calling on my life.
To further solidify that call, Pastor Paul Sizemore of North Wadesboro Baptist Church in Wadesboro, NC, another student in the seminar course, asked me to be his summer youth director. God used Paul and the work at North Wadesboro to initiate me into His calling on my life. That first summer was eye-opening -- in some ways good, and in others, not...
No comments:
Post a Comment