Many years ago when I was 14 years old, I had asked my mom, “When is daddy coming home?” It had been a couple of days and I didn’t know where he was. He was a ‘good ‘ol boy’, my dad. Everyone’s friend, the Country Singer. Guitar in hand, always ready to give a tune to anyone who would listen. That was actually the trouble, anyone did listen and lonely hearts drew my dad away from our family. My brother was 17 months older than me and had his own band and was headed down the same road. My little sis was so young, just 5 years old. Mom said, “He’s not coming home. He said ‘a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” And that was it.

I had a case of hard luck. Mom didn’t have a very high paying job and I was in a private Christian School with my sister. I had caused my parents unthinkable grief the 2 years prior and had earlier that year had my life turned around by an encounter with God that changed my life. I had since, spent a lot of time talking to Him and getting to know him better. One night I was in my bedroom, down on my knees when I got a picture in my mind of a fork in the road. There was a wide, nicely tarred highway going one direction, and in the other direction, there was a winding, deep sandy road with thorns and debris and steep spots. That night God gave me a choice. I could go on that wide road and cruise through life and do pretty good for myself and love God and be a good Christan. But I would have to choose. Well it seemed like a no brainer! Until he showed me more.

He showed me that it would be okay to live a “normal” life but that if I would dare to take a step in the direction of the tiny little road, that he would take me places I never dreamed. My prayer to Him since I gave my life to Him was that my life would make a difference and that I would go wherever he said to go and I would do whatever he said to do. So that night, I saw myself -in this life altering moment of choice, take the hand of the one I chose to follow and we started our journey with one step, with room for just 2, at the fork in the road.