I think it was around 1969 or 1970. I was 21 or 22 years old, living in Greenville, Mississippi, with my wife. During that time, we became close friends with a man named Rudy Roach—pronounced Ro-shay. Rudy later enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed his basic training at Fort Polk in Louisiana.
When it came time for his graduation, we traveled to Fort Polk to visit him. We even had the chance to meet his drill sergeant and some of his fellow soldiers. After the visit, we had to leave briefly, planning to return for the graduation ceremony. As we searched for a place to stay, we ended up at an old, run-down motel—not ideal, but I was dealing with a pounding headache and didn’t care much about the surroundings.
We all took a nap to rest. After about an hour, I woke up, and to my surprise, the headache was completely gone. The two ladies with me were still asleep, so I quietly looked around the room for something to occupy my time.
That’s when I noticed a Gideon Bible sitting on the bedside table. To the best of my memory, I had never owned a Bible before. Out of curiosity, I picked it up and began thumbing through the pages. I landed in the Book of John—and something extraordinary happened.
As I read the words of Scripture, they seemed to leap off the page. They were vibrant, powerful, and alive. I had never experienced anything like it. Right there in that dingy motel room, I believed what I was reading by faith—a faith I couldn’t yet explain or fully understand. And in that moment, I gave my life to Jesus Christ.
From that day forward, I developed a deep hunger for God’s Word. I began reading the Bible every morning and devoured every Christian book I could get my hands on. It’s been over 55 years since that day, and that hunger has never gone away. Very few days have passed in my life without reading the Scriptures.
One of the sweetest affirmations came years later from my oldest son, Eric. He once told me, “The thing I remember most about you when I was a kid was every morning, when I came into the kitchen for breakfast, you were always sitting there reading your Bible.”
But let me be honest—life hasn’t been as perfect as my testimony might sound. Along the way, there has been sin—real sin—with real consequences. Some of those consequences still affect me today. I’ve made choices that brought pain, and I carry the scars of those seasons.
Yet even in my failures, I found mercy.
I’ve repented and confessed my sins before the Lord. And just as He promises in His Word, He has been faithful and just to forgive me and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. He didn’t give up on me. He restored my faith, even though I still live with some of the outcomes of my past. And today, I walk in the freedom of His grace—not because I deserve it, but because He is good.
I share this testimony not to lift myself up, but to lift up the One who met me in a forgotten motel room, gave me a new heart, and has never once let me go.
Timothy 3:16–17
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
A great reminder of how the Bible has been shaping me over the decades.
No comments:
Post a Comment