My Life with Christ

My life with Christ ---

The days that followed have been awesome, indescribable, nearly unbelievable and a ‘giant blur’. The biggest reason I have not written about it is that I have been searching for an approach, however, I failed to come up with one that was simple and easy. Plus, I was fearful that if I waited any longer I would forget the majority of it. With the encouragement of friends and family, I have decided to just ‘DO IT”. It will be self evident that I have not graduated from journalism school. Thank you in advance for your indulgence.

During that meeting with financial and legal people, I was also invited to get a divorce. This has been a very difficult subject to write about without expressions of disappointment. I do not wish to elaborate but after 30 years and 4 months of married life I found it ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’. I dare not write what went through my mind. Let it suffice to say the experience of being both bankrupt and single was a bit much and in retrospect if I had not had the Lord to reach out to, I am not sure what chain of activity would have taken place. I do not wish to be critical of my wife, at this writing, as each of us are given choices to make in our lives. It is much easier to understand and accept now than I did then. Without elaborating, I want to share that the love my 3 daughters extended for me did not diminish through it all.

As I caught my breath, so to speak, I had an opportunity to see, first hand, how scriptures have come to life for me. Even though I had been a church going individual most all of my life, I very seldom read the bible, never memorized scriptures, and unfortunately did not know much about God prior to this time. I certainly never had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ like I have now. Having an opportunity to focus on the options available, it became clear to me that Jesus was nearly all I had. The only thing the court was not able to take, or impound, from me was my membership in the Colorado Air National Guard. I was allowed to continue managing the affairs of the cold storage facility so that it would remain in operation and for sale but I was not to be paid for my efforts. I was blessed with having some very capable and honest people working for me as well who did not need micromanagement. At this point I appealed to a friend, the Chief Veterinarian of the Air Force, for extended active-duty assignments. I had the opportunity for two-week assignments at Minot AFB, ND, Eglin AFB, FL, Scott AFB, IL, in addition to my annual field training at Buckley ANG Base, CO. I also appealed to other business associates for short-term duties that I might sustain myself. Indulge me to write of these is a separate section. Let it suffice to say I paralleled these with four different bible studies with four different teacher/instructors. I recall soaking up the Word like a sponge. I must share about being mentored and ministered to by Pastor John Lawless. He drove up from Boulder every Thursday morning for a 4 hour, one on one, teaching experience. His instructions were, before he was to get there, I should decide on a couple subject that we would discuss thoroughly. At the close of almost every meeting he would suggest we discuss ‘baptism’ sometime soon. I had been baptized by sprinkling, pouring, and lightly touching the water and the laying on of hands, but never by emersion.


Each time he would say to me, if you ever change your mind, don’t put it off, call me immediately, ok? I had many problems that I would share with the Lord every night. And several times during the day. Late one night as I was praying, I heard the Lord tell me “Why should I help you with that problem, you don’t even have the decency to get baptized.” I turned a light on to see what time it was, and it was 0230 am. I reached for the phone and called him. Humorously I told him to get the water hot, he had one more chicken to scald (baptize). From that suggestion, I was baptized by emersion on October 21, 1981.

With the assistance of friends and family I purchased a house in Aurora, Colorado where
My daughter, Danice, and I shared it with my oldest daughter’s dog and a cat. This house was outside the west gate of Fitzsimmons Army Medical Hospital. Two very memorable events took place while we lived there. I was working for Mr. Steak Corp. In that capacity I renewed my relationship with the Director of Operations for Digby Freight Lines. My comment when we parted was “If you come across any bargains, let me know” Four days later he called me. They had a trailer truck loaded with 44,000 lbs of hotdogs go off the road up in the mountains. He asked if I would supervise the salvage of this wreckage, since he knew that I had been in meat inspection for years. I was well paid for effectively saving some 41,000 lbs. When I went to their office with my statement he was on the phone trying to sell them. I gave him some grief by sharing that if he was a descent salesman he would have them already sold. Then he asked if I wanted to buy them. My response was that I didn’t have any money but if he wanted to trade them for my bill, I would do that (not realizing that he would even consider it). He surprised me by saying he would and even let me store them in their yard, plugged in until I got them sold. My bill was for almost $600.00 which would mean .015 per lb. Within 4 days I had them all sold for .10 a lb. They went to 4 large catholic charities and the Salvation Army. God’s hand was definitely upon this deal, as I was able to pay all my debts and have some leftover. He was faithful and always provided my needs in every way.

On December 24, 1982 (Christmas eve), it started to snow. My middle daughter (Danice) was baby-sitting with a pair of twins and I had been in church. That night it snowed 39 inches! Wherever you were that evening you stayed for several days. My car was totally covered as it sit in the driveway, you couldn’t even tell there was a car there. Since she could not get home, I spent the holiday alone with the animals. What a blessing.

Shortly after the first of the year I received another miracle. I was in the midst of a prayer meeting with about 15 people that I had just met. One of the ladies prophesized over me that tomorrow I would receive an answer to a prayer that I had been diligently praying for. I was immediately elated, however, I suddenly realized that I had several items on the list so was not sure what to expect. On the way home, I prayer that they Lord would make sure I didn’t overlook what he had for me. This he did. The next morning I received a call from a meat company in Michigan asking for my assistance. I had been recommended by a member of their staff that I had not seen or heard from in over 2 years. This position paid well enough that I got back on my feet and was debt free in just a few months. I eventually moved to MI and transferred my Air National Guard membership from Colorado to Michigan. They just happened to have one slot available.

Within a short time I applied for reinstatement to USDA federal service. My first assignment was in Antigo, WI. I worked as an area veterinarian over 9 counties in NE Wisconsin, controlling Brucellosis, Tuberculosis, Pseudo-rabies, and ecto-parasites primarily. During the evening I attended the Area Technical College where I studied computer science, micro computers, and data entry . I also attended short courses in Problem Solving & Decision Making, Management Principles for Supervisors, and Interpersonal Management Skills. During this assignment I had the opportunity to review operations at several city zoos, as in Milwaukee, Madison, Stevens Point, Green Bay, and others, plus over 50 road-side zoos under private ownership. Among my duties was to serve as a relief veterinarian in other states when their OIC was either in training, vacation, or a temporary assignment. It was during these tours the Regional Director became aware of my performance and recommended me for a position in Washington, D.C. in the office of the Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

As a Special Assistant to the Deputy Administrator, I and my counterpart, and our Supervisor had total control and oversight for all inbound animal products being shipped into the country. We were the final support for approximately 1400 port inspectors. I was in this position for over 7 years, where I was able to travel to nearly every port in the US, to every state (except Hawaii as the boss always went there). I traveled to every contiguous state plus Alaska, Virgin Islands, Peurto Rico, and Solomon Islands that has an Air, Sea, or Land Port of Entry. Some we had the opportunity to visit 2 and 3 times a year.

On the lite side of this assignment, I found out that if one did much of the review at night, it could be done with little interruption from Importers interference. Soooooo. I worked at night and played golf in the daytime several days a week. Both my review performance and my golf game improved dramatically. It was better than working during the day and watching TV at night.

In October, 1994 I retired and moved to Kansas, back to where I started my adult working history. It was not long, probably 2 months, before I became bored and went to work. I didn’t have enough money to play golf every day and it was often too windy to fish so I got a job at AutoZone selling auto parts. Soon after I got fed up with the excitement of working there, and receiving a .07 cents per hour as an employee in the top 10% rating, I started driving clients for the County Mental Health Service.

It was during this period that I was invited to drive for Kaw Valley Center, a contract transporter of clients (youth) for SRS. I have been doing this for over 5 years and love it. In these 5 years I have had the opportunity to be in nearly every county and able to see the farming practices in every season. I really admire this opportunity. I also enjoy chatting with the kids I transport and letting them know they are loved, especially by our Savior Jesus Christ. Many want to know more about Him and I enjoy sharing and giving bibles to them. This part is my private contribution.