I was born in rural East Tennessee. My sister and I went to church on a fairly regular basis. We went to Vacation Bible School each summer. I remember when I was about 10 years old, after hearing a message on salvation, the preacher gave the invitation. When I went forward, he asked me some questions. I really don't remember now what they were, but a few weeks later I was baptized and joined the church.

As I grew up, there were several tragedies in my life that seemed to turn me away from God. First, my uncle, whom I loved and looked up to, was killed in the Vietnam War. About the same time, my grandfather, who had come to live with us, killed himself. I was crushed. Not long after this, my dad bought a tractor-trailer and went out as an over the road driver. Before I knew it, he had left my mother, my sister, and I. I couldn't believe that my Uncle, Grandfather, and Dad were now gone.

The church changed preachers every so often, but the preacher I remember the most was a young man who was very kind to all of us. The next year I became close to him. Then one day, I was told that he had run off with another woman. For me, I guess that was the last straw. At that time in my life, four of the men that meant so much to me were gone. I know I should have turned to God for help, but by this point, I thought, "What kind of God could allow this to happen?" I was hurt and confused, so for many years I ran from God.

I graduated from high school in May of 1972, and moved to Maryland to live with my mother and stepfather. I had two or three different jobs. In 1974, I got married. I was married for only eighteen months. I had failed at everything I had done up to that point in my life. I was a mean, nasty, self-centered person. All I was concerned about was myself. At that point, I moved back into the house with my mother and stepfather.

In 1977, I got married for the second time. Doing the one thing I felt I knew how to do, I became an over the road truck driver like my dad. In the winter of 1978, God tried once again to get my attention. After being on the road for many hours, I awoke to find I was only a few feet from running squarely into the back end of a tanker loaded with gasoline. At impact, the truck jack-knifed and I was thrown from the cab. I landed in the ditch parallel with the highway and the entire tractor-trailer passed right over me. I escaped with only minor injuries. Somehow I still didn't see that God was trying to get my attention.

My wife, Diane, and I had two beautiful children-- a son and a daughter. However, because I was the same selfish person inside, I did not take the time to be with them. When I was not buried in the job, I was out playing all the games I thought men were entitled to: golf, softball, and bowling. I worked hard to supply my family's needs, but only financially. I always thought that was all they needed; after all, I came home every night.

One day a friend invited Diane to the church that her son had started. Wouldn't you know it? It was right across the street from where we lived.

Diane asked me to come to church with her and the kids. Church was the last place in the world I wanted to go. Besides, I thought, "What kind of church would meet in a school?" I refused to go. She fought all kind of opposition with the children as well. It was like she was fighting against the devil himself, but she went anyway. She would ask me each week, but I wouldn't go. I even started leaving the house by four in the morning to go somewhere to play golf just so I wouldn't have to tell her "no." Things were getting worse by the day. Finally, I realized I needed help. I didn't know what, but I needed something. So I gave in and went with them to church. I had so much sin in my life. My pride wouldn't let me admit it, even though the Bible says in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." I guess I thought, "I went to church as a child. I joined a good church and was baptized. I know about Jesus. I am okay." When the pastor started his message, I thought he was talking right to me. When the service was over and he gave the invitation, they began to sing the song "Just As I Am." I was under so much conviction. I knew at that time, if I were to die, I would go straight to Hell. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." All I had learned as a child told me what he was saying was true. On that day, I came to the point in my life where I knew I needed a Saviour. At that moment, I knew I was undone before a holy and righteous God. I needed the Lord Jesus Christ. I repented of my sins and accepted the free gift of eternal life. I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I know that on March 4, 1990, I truly got saved. (Note: salvation, saved, and born again are Biblical terms referring to the forgiveness of sins by God and the rescue of a person from the power and penalty of that sin. This is God's requirement for everlasting life. Lost is a Bible term used to describe those who have never turned to Christ as their personal Saviour.) My whole life changed that day. Oh, there have been many struggles, many times I have fallen and sometimes felt like quitting, but the Lord has always been right there to pick me up. I thank God for Jesus and the gift of salvation that he gave to this poor wretched sinner. Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus came and died on the cross at Calvary for me. It is not by anything I have done, but what He did for me that I am trusting. For years I knew about Jesus, but for the first time, I realized that He is the only way to Heaven. John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The Bible shows us in Exodus chapter 20, that none of us are good enough to go to heaven. If we were to get what we deserve, it would be eternity in Hell.

After I was saved, I realized that the Lord filled a void in my life that I didn't even know I had. The Lord is the only One that can meet all of our needs. My desire is that you find the genuine peace that only comes through a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There will always be men who fail to be what we expect them to be, but I now have a Saviour that can never fail me. The world has nothing to offer that compares to His complete love. Would you consider trusting Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? Thank you for taking the time to read my life changing story.