February 15, 2003
Ted W.- This 'Gift of God' challenged God
My name is Ted W. I was born in the sunny town of Corpus Christi, Texas in 1952. I was three months premature, and the little Methodist Church my parents attended prayed me through. My name, Theodore, means “Gift of God”, and I think that is because I survived being born at 3 and 1/2 pounds. I grew up going to church and did all the things my church required. But by the time I was in high school, God was a very small part of my life. I had a 911 relationship with God, He was only there in case of emergencies.
I thought I was a “good” person, and I’d make it to heaven on being nice. My junior year of High School (1969)I started trying to fit in with the “jock” crowd. I played football. On weekends we would drink beer, sneak into drive-in movies, and talk about girls. One weekend I went off to Mexico with my friend and his older brother. The car broke down and I was stranded. I told my parents several big lies about that weekend. Suddenly I did not feel so good about myself. I began to think of myself as a bad person.
A few months earlier a girl in my English class passed me a note inviting me to something called Young Life. I saw slides of their Christmas Ski trip to Colorado. So I signed up to go on the next one. With two busloads of kids we drove 24 hours to the mountains of Colorado. I loved the skiing. I fell a lot. My cabin counselor was a Texas Tech football player named Steve Stone. I thought he was the strongest and best guy I’d ever met. I could tell he really cared about all of us. Every evening, we’d gather for roundup, singing, skits, and a talk about Jesus from Rusty Palmer.
One night Rusty went into detail about what Jesus did on the cross. He described the 39 lashes, the beating Jesus took, and how painful it was to be nailed to a cross. Then he asks us to spend 15 minutes in silence, just thinking about what Jesus did. I remember sitting on a rock, in about 20 degrees, looking up at the Colorado stars. I said to God, “If you are real, like you seem to be in the counselors, come into my life and prove to me that you are real.”
Then I did something I probably should not have done, I gave Jesus a deadline, “I’ll give you 30 days to prove to me you are real.” Well God overlooked my doubts, and accepted my mustard seed of faith, and transformed my life beginning that night. It hasn’t always been easy to be a Christian, but it has always been an adventure. Since then I’ve attended two seminaries, and gotten married to a wonderful woman, Sara. We have been blessed with two sons, Ben and Bill, who are now fine young adults.
I have been a Young Life Area Director, a salesman to churches, a youth minister, and for sixteen years a Presbyterian Minister. In 1999 I was able to go to the Holy Land, and at the conclusion of that trip, as we shared in the Garden Tomb, I realized God was still answering my prayer. I asked Him to prove He was real in 30 days, but here it was 30 years later and He was still showing me how real, loving, and caring he is.
I am praying that Jesus is real in your life also, and I’d love to talk to you about Him.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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