Milestones

I mentioned to Sgt B last week that this weekend I would be marking off a major milestone in my life, as I was officially becoming a member of the United Methodist Church. It had been a long road for me to get to where I belong spiritually but I can see now that it has been a road that has led to a great new home.

I was raised a Roman Catholic and as soon as I left the nest and entered the Army I conveniently let that part of my life fall away. For many years I drifted in and out of church with never really making any connection. For the most part those brushes with religion were during the bad times in my life: hard times in Basic Training, after a bad break up, and just general depression at life in general.

Sgt B mentioned to me that he finds solace in Psalm 23, “...though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil…” but for me it has always been a single line from the Old Testament that drew me back to God and the force in my life that always drove me to help and serve others: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8. It was this passage that seemed to drive me throughout life, whether it be volunteering for Military Service when no others seemed to be willing to step forward in that tumultuous time called the 70’s and 80’s, or following my childhood dream of becoming a firefighter.

On Sunday I took the step that brought me closer to the one that continually calls me to serve, and I am better for it.