After graduating from college in 1971, I began thinking seriously about life. I'd finished four years of schooling and now I was supposed to join the work force and fit into society. But I didn't feel ready.

One day I asked someone I trusted a question, "Is there more to life than going to work, coming home watching TV and then going out on the weekends. They answered, "No, that's all there is." Something inside me said there's got to be more. So I started my search.

I decided on using two basic guidelines, whatever I found had to 1) make me a better person and 2) give me the motivation and the tools to help others.

At first I read books on eastern religions and philosophies. After much reading I came to a conclusion. These religions might help the individual, but after looking at the poverty and squalor of the Far Eastern countries, they had done little good for others.

So I turned to American religions. After all, America was a religious country and people were taking care of people better here, than anywhere else in the world. Browsing through the library, I came upon a book by Billy Graham. At first I decided not to read it. I figured he was just another rich man trying to take advantage of people. As I was putting it back on the shelf, a thought came to me. Why not judge what he has to say and not how you think he lives his life. That sounded fair, so I checked the book out.

Surprisingly, I agreed with much of what Billy Graham wrote. There was only one point on which I disagreed and it kept coming up in all his books. He said, if you ask God to forgive your sins, turn away from evil and then ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart, your life will be changed. This sounded too simplistic, like some sort of magical prayer. So I skipped over it. I figured I could make myself a better person by studying and trying to live a good life.

I enjoyed reading these books, but I soon realized that my life was still pretty much the same. Until one day I went to a movie with a couple of friends. In the film, I saw the struggle between good and evil being acted out on the screen. Two forces for good were fighting one evil force, but they weren't really accomplishing much. One, believed in using violence to stop evil and the other believed in trying to change evil people through passive non-resistance. Neither was really working, they were at best just stopping evil for a time. If neither worked, than what was left? When I went home that night, my mind was in a cloud, I fell on my knees at my bedside and prayed. "Lord, I know I've made a mess of my life and I've given other people a lot of bad advice, but if you can come into my heart like Billy Graham says you can, I want you to do it."

I figured nothing would happen. Boy was I wrong. Things began to happen immediately. I felt my shoulders involuntarily relax as if a great weight had been lifted. Then I felt something like a scrub brush filled with light, cleaning the darkness on the inside of me. I had prayed with my eyes closed, so I opened them. Above my bed toward the ceiling I saw a misty cloud. "My God you're real! " I exclaimed. I felt a joy and a peace that was beyond any I had ever experienced before. Then, exhausted, I fell into bed and had the greatest nights sleep of my life.

When I awoke, I instantly noticed a change. I was actually happy. I was no longer moody, anxious or critical. I looked at people and at nature as if I had never seen them before. Every thing looked different and new. That experience with God has continued to have a tremendous impact on my life for the past 30 years.  

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