A Detour (continued from "Our Stories")
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)
Our stories are important and it’s important that we share those stories with one another. By sharing this story, found in my book, Masterpiece in the Making: Life Lessons for Spiritual Growth, I hope to encourage you to share your stories - your life - with others. Genuine relationships are important to our spiritual health.
As I shared with you yesterday, I planned on transferring colleges from Furman University in South Carolina to Georgia Tech in Atlanta so I could be close to my high school sweetheart. It was at this point in my life that I had a powerful encounter with God.
There are very few times God has spoken as clearly to me as He did one night in my dorm room at Furman. I was desperate to be admitted to Georgia Tech, so I cried out to God. I asked the Lord to open the door for me to go to school in Atlanta and be near Marie. In fact, I told God that one day I would marry Marie.
I lay quietly in bed, waiting to drift off to sleep when suddenly God spoke. Louder than any audible voice, the Spirit of God spoke directly to my spirit. I heard these words echoing loudly in my heart - “You will be accepted as a student at Georgia Tech, but Marie will never be your wife.”
The voice of God was so real and so clear that I responded out loud in the darkness of my dorm room, saying, “Oh, yes, she will!”
I moved to Atlanta, began studies at Georgia Tech, and in time, proposed to Marie. She accepted, and as I slipped the engagement ring on her finger, I was a happy young man. My future was set. I would graduate from Tech, move to Tallahassee, Florida, with my new wife, and finish my education with a Master of Business Administration from Florida State University. After that, I would work a few years in the business world before joining my father’s company in Atlanta. At least those were my plans.
I was crushed when Marie returned her ring and broke off our engagement. I continued with my plans, graduating from Florida State and moving to Orlando, Florida, where I began working in the finance department of a major Fortune 500 company. I threw myself into my work. I worked long hours focusing on promotions, salary increases, and what I thought was success. Church was not part of the equation. I grew further and further away from God.
That’s when I received a surprise visit from my brother, Duane.
More tomorrow.
In Christ,
Dan