MOST PEOPLE look forward, but at 3:30 one morning, I decided to look back. 

WHAT THREE THINGS HAVE HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT ON MY LIFE?

Hard to whittle to three, but I’ll try.

1. The first has to be my acceptance of God’s invitation to join his family. No specific date; it’s more a lifelong process of bonding with him. Attending Wheaton College helped a lot, immersing me in that grand, relational context of
   
   

   June 11, 1955

   
   knowing and loving God.
2. Getting married is the next big thing. Marriage changes one’s life dramatically. So many layers. Relational, procreational, functional, behavioral…and on, on, on. Our first major bump in the road came on our honeymoon, over the price of a friend’s wedding gift. We’ve driven on a lot of corduroy since then and are still trying to figure each other out. After sixty years, though, we are getting better at it. Hint: If you want to improve your spouse, first improve yourself. Adjusting to children is likewise tough, but despite parental incompetence, children sometimes do turn into top-notch adults—a miracle in itself. (See 3 previous blogs on Eric, Rachel, and Lee.)

 
3. The switch from music to writing has to be my third. Writing is fun, but marketing is tough. Get in people’s faces. Be obnoxious…. My love for story, though, linked with my passion for God, prods me to write well and say something worthwhile. Books are slow in the making—15 years for The Stones. But research and a fair amount of travel—West Virginia, Westchester County NY, North Dakota, and even Israel—make it fun.

Turned 80 last year (looking back) and am now calculating how long I have to produce and market the next book. Only God knows my future, but my past, with all its mistakes and selfishness, is COVERED—hidden by the mercy and grace of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
Which brings us back to the beginning: I’M IN GOD’S FAMILY, AND THAT’S ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS.


Double click on photos to enlarge.