I Almost Missed It!
During my childhood I went to church every week with my family. I was baptized 3 times through 2 different denominations. I found the information I was given in church to be good in many respects but in my opinion inconsistent. In some very important areas it was detrimental to my ability to have a sincere trust and faith in God. I could not have faith and trust in a God that could be characterized with words like vengeful, wrathful and jealous. I really took issue with a God that would require the painful death of His Son to balance the bad choices of my forefathers.
In the late 70’s I started becoming interested in religious information outside the mainstrean religion that I had been exposed to. My Stepmother was interested in this as well and we would share this information back and forth. One day in the early 80’s she said she had found this very unusual book that whe wanted me to read. After I found out some of the story of how the book came to be written I declined her offer. It just seemed to far out for me to take seriously.
My Stepmother died in January of 2003. My life had also started coming apart. I quit a job I had held for 25 years, was divorced from a marriage of over 22 years and had entered a 12 step program to address some other bad choices I had made. One morning in February 2003 I had awaken to begin my ritual of reading some 12 step material and setting my day in motion by scheduling the things that needed to be done. I was in a house that I now lived alone in, with no job that required my time. In this condition of being humbled, simplified, willing and open minded the thought about the book my Stepmother had told me about 20 years earlier entered my mind. I wondered if it might still be in her house so I drove the 30 miles to my late parent’s house and let myself in. Although she had several hundred books in her home I found her Urantia Book on the headboard of her bed with a handful of other books…imagine that.
I came home and started reading the book. I have read it every morning, with the exception of a few days ever since that time. How has it changed my life? The real gift for me is it has erased the inconsistencies and all doubt that affected my faith and trust in God. It brought Jesus to life for me right here right now. It has given me glorious dreams to try to apply to my daily living. It is affecting every aspect of my life. It has made all old things new in my life and I am grateful and enrgized to be on this new adventure.
