I almost missed it!
(Anonymous)
During my childhood I went to church every week with my family. I was
baptized 3 times through 2 different denominations. I found the
information I was given in church to be good in many respects but in my
opinion inconsistent. In some very important areas it was detrimental
to my ability to have a sincere trust and faith in God. I could not
have faith and trust in a God that could be characterized with words
like vengeful, wrathful and jealous. I really took issue with a God
that would require the painful death of His Son to balance the bad
choices of my forefathers.
Un the late 70's I started becoming interested in religious information
outside the mainstrean religion that I had been exposed to. My
Stepmother was interested in this as well and we would share this
information back and forth. One day in the early 80's she said she had
found this very unusual book that whe wanted me to read. After I found
out some of the story of how the book came to be written I declined her
offer. It just seemed to far out for me to take seriously.
My Stepmother died in January of 2003. My life had also started coming
apart. I quit a job I had held for 25 years, was divorced from a
marriage of over 22 years and had entered a 12 step program to address
some other bad choices I had made. One morning in February 2003 I had
awaken to begin my ritual of reading some 12 step material and setting
my day in motion by scheduling the things that needed to be done. I was
in a house that I now lived alone in, with no job that required my
time. In this condition of being humbled, simplified, willing and open
minded the thought about the book my Stepmother had told me about 20
years earlier entered my mind. I wondered if it might still be in her
house so I drove the 30 miles to my late parent's house and let myself
in. Although she had several hundred books in her home I found her
Urantia Book on the headboard of her bed with a handful of other
books...imagine that.
I came home and started reading the book. I have read it every morning,
with the exception of a few days ever since that time. How has it
changed my life? The real gift for me is it has erased the
inconsistencies and all doubt that affected my faith and trust in God.
It brought Jesus to life for me right here right now. It has given me
glorious dreams to try to apply to my daily living. It is affecting
every aspect of my life. It has made all old things new in my life and
I am grateful and enrgized to be on this new adventure.
