My First Really Close Encounter with God
I was at the ripe old age of 13 and I was attending my ORAL examination for my confirmation. It had an audience of all my classmates and all our PARENTS. Talk about pressure!!!
Our Senior Pastor, dear Reverend Tilburg (affectionately known as "Tillie" among my classmates), had been rehearsing us for weeks - with never a commitment - on certain answers to certain questions. But with just enough hint that you might know what oral question he may throw your way. Soooo - at last, came my turn - (he called on all twenty of us in alphabetical order) - he skipped me!!! (Not intentionally - but he skipped me!!!)
I thought, "WOW! Maybe I'm getting off easy!" But wait a minute - my folks are here - my classmates are here - my God is here. Then at the end - after concluding with Dorothy Swanson (note the alphabetical order) - Tillie said, "Now is there anybody I haven't called on?"
Epiphany had arrived! Lord - help me through this one. I almost felt him pushing my hand up, up in the air. Pray. Pray it will be the scripture I have quoted above. God was with me that day, my friends - "Roger, please quote the fourth commandment." And I DID! And that is why you see the King James Version scripture above - because that is what I quoted. And also after you "re-read" it, remember my father and mother were present!!!
Dear God, thank you again for helping me through that fateful day during my fourteenth year here on earth. And thank you for sending Lois Poston to ask me to contribute to our Lenten book this year. It is a first for me. It has brought back some very poignant memories of my folks and my childhood. Amen.
Roger Struck
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