My redemption through God's Grace

I remember going to church as a kid. I lost my mother at the age of eight and was the oldest of 5 children. Dad never remarried, but managed to take all five of us to church until I was about 15. At that point, dad stopped taking us to church. I very seldom attended church until much later in life. I met a Lutheran minister at our local golf club when I was about 58 years old. My wife and I joined the church a short time later. At about this time, the Lord gave me the blessing of having a servant's heart. I would volunteer helping elderly neighbors in need of my handyman skills and volunteered for the 1st Tee to help youth who were often in need of adult supervision and attention. When we moved to our current location in Ocala, Florida, God gave me the opportunity to volunteer at a local soup kitchen sponsored by a local church. God also allowed me to join a prison ministry called Kairos. We were able to provide spiritual motivation to many of the prisoners. I was also privileged to volunteer at our LLL men's church group where we helped raised funds for various charities. God has also blessed me with two healthy son's who are married and have kids (our grandkids) and a loving wife who I have been married to for over 50 years. God has blessed me in so many ways. It is a big blessing for me to try to follow the example of Jesus who was the "suffering servant"

Because I had no mother as a child (after 8), it took me many years to understand and appreciate the gift I was given by God of my faithful and loving wife.

My servanthood has given me the opportunity to set a Christian example for others to follow.

God has given me a different perspective on leaving this earth. I no longer fear death, as I now know that loving God in heaven will welcome me with the rest of his believers.

All five of my dad's offspring were with him at the time of his death. We prayed with him and sang to him until he entered God's rest

Like Paul in the bible, I have God's work that he has planned for me to do while I am here on earth, but when my time is up, I look forward to being in Jesus glorious presence in heaven.