Lately, I've been thinking about two strangers whose kindness blessed me. I never spoke with them, I never met them, and I don't even know one of their names. But honestly, when I am in heaven, I plan on thanking them.
If you know anything about me, it's that I am a Christian. My spiritual journey began in 1977 when Debby Boone's song, You Light Up My Life, was popular. At the radio station where I worked, I mentioned I liked the song and was told she was singing to God. That seemed odd because she made it seem like God was someone she could have a real relationship with. That's what first got me thinking.
A year later in 1978, my boyfriend and I discussed a deep issue. It started when Carl asked me if I believed in God. Of course, I did. At the time, I still thought merely believing in God was good enough.
Since then, I've realized knowing about God and knowing God are two different things. Then, I knew about God. Now, I know God.
During our months-long discussion, we bought a Bible and started reading it. Ultimately, that led both of us to make the decision to become Christ followers. And that decision led us to get married within a few weeks. (I post about those details every December. Check back for the story.)
I've been all-in ever since. Never looked back. Never had regrets.
That life-changing decision was a combination of thinking about that 1977 song and Carl meeting an old Black man who took a moment out of his day in 1978 to ask my husband, "Do you want to go to heaven?"
At the time, my husband was a DJ in Pottstown, PA. Every other Sunday morning, he had to engineer live broadcasts. One of the shows was a program hosted by that old Black preacher. After he asked the question, he held up his worn Bible and said, "This is the roadmap to heaven."
That was all. He didn't say anything else, and frankly, I don't know how attentive my husband was to the message the preacher shared. But his question started my husband on a quest to discover if Jesus was worth his time.
The rest, as they say, is history. But, oh what history it's been! That seven-word question has impacted three generations of my family, so far. My faith has been my mainstay during difficult times and a blessing always. Knowing about God is nothing compared to being in a love relationship with the Creator of the Universe.
God draws people to Himself in all kinds of ways. For us, He chose a Top 40 song and a humble man of few words. What a blessing Debby Boone and that man gave to generations of my family! One day, I'll thank them.
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