My Testimony
One night, many years ago, I was trying to fall asleep, and I had a vision of falling down a black hole, which got darker as I fell. At that time, so many things were going great for me, and I had so much hope for the future. I was working as a fully qualified Paramedic and was about to get hired by the Chicago Fire Department (my dream job)! I was making good money, dating some lovely women, and I regularly ran in triathlons along Lake Michigan.... but I was having this vision of falling into a black hole, nonetheless.
This vision continued each night, and when I searched my heart, I realized I was dying spiritually. Nobody preached to me and told me this- I believe it was God reaching out to me to prevent me from falling away forever. Fortunately, the darkness scared me enough to make me call out to a "god" and ask for help, and that started my search for a "god" or "whatever" was out there. I thought Christians were not friendly people based on some unfounded "Church hurt," which sent me to look into many different religions to avoid a church. I didn't have any issues with Jesus, but I did not want to be a Christian- but then God began to whisper to me.
One day while driving a patient to the hospital in our ambulance, I saw a Coast Guard recruiting station on the north side of Chicago. While driving past it, I could hear "something" whisper that I needed to go to that station. After we dropped off our patient at the hospital, I returned to the recruiting station and asked them about being in the Coast Guard. The funny thing was- I had no idea what the Coast Guard did, where they had units, or if they were part of the military (which they were not at that time). When they got done telling me about the Coast Guard's mission, I told them I wanted to sign up. It felt like God was pushing me in that direction, and I was implying following His guidance.
The Recruiter pleaded with me not to join the Coast Guard because I would take a massive pay cut, and I should join the Fire Department like I had been hoping to do for many years. He was kind of distraught about it. But I told him I needed to sign up. I knew that my destiny was in signing up and following the unknown.
The same day I left for Coast Guard Boot Camp, the mailman arrived at my apartment with my acceptance letter to the Chicago Fire Department! I attended school and worked for seven years to get into the Fire Department. I wouldn't find out it had arrived until weeks later when I finally got to call my Mom. She asked, "I received a letter from the Chicago Fire Department. Have you been expecting it?" I laughed and thought about how life would have gone if I stayed in Chicago. I knew I would never have left if I had entered the Department because the job and benefits were so good! But my family was in Los Angeles, and there were no waves in Chicago! I needed to return, but God had so much more in mind.
Once I arrived in Los Angeles, I met a "Born Again" Christian surfer who worked on the same ship I was sent to. He and I immediately became best friends, and he laughed whenever I talked about my thoughts on spirituality. He said I sounded confused and was curious why I wouldn't attend a Christian church. No answer I gave him satisfied his curiosity, and I could feel I was growing closer to Jesus. However, I still wanted to check out New Ageism and Native American spirituality.
While researching various religions and beliefs, I started to look at Israel and the Jewish people. I knew that Hitler tried to completely eradicate them. Then I learned that so many other nations wanted to eliminate them as well... but they were still here, and they brought their ancient text with them. But it wasn't just a "text." It was a book of promises from God, and Jesus fulfilled so many of them. From a logical standpoint, the Old Testament made so much sense, and no other religion seemed as logical.
As I wrote before, I didn't have a problem with Jesus. I saw the Bible's sensitivity, so I started leaning toward becoming a Christian. And then there was Abraham. When I finally read that God had promised that Abraham's descendants would be numerous like the stars and would never cease to exist, I couldn't deny that promise existed before my eyes. His first son, Ishmael, is considered the father of all Arab people. Abraham's second son Isaac is the father of the Jewish people- and if Catholics and Christians are the adopted children of Abraham, then it means that more than 2 billion people exist today because of God's promise to Abraham. That was it! I gave my life to God and got baptized on the same day!
Now, 20 years later, I am attempting to create this business to show how exciting and adventurous life can be when we let God make plans for us instead of us focusing on a path we produce. Yes, the Fire Department would have been a great job, but I would have been doing much of it without God, and I probably would have grown even more distant from Him... but I know He would have kept reaching out for me.
I could write about my adventures with God and all the people He has led into my life, but that would take many books to complete. I have attached 100s photos in my Photo Album, which are from my US Bicycle Tour that I did for almost 3 years to grow close to God. While I was out there, God showed me so many great things about Himself, His creation, and me- but He also showed me MANY areas I could improve on. And as I grew closer to Him and He encouraged me to work on my issues, I found that it led me to the most peace I have ever known. The solution to finding peace seemed to be- draw close to God, fix me, and learn to love others as He loves them. Simple? It can be, but fixing ourselves can become a second full-time job... but it's worth it!
So how about we get started?
