Where do I begin? Here it has been over six months since my last entry and my whole world has been turned upside down. In an almost "you name it, it's happened to me" kind of way, my whole world has changed.
After recovering from the "car" incident, I was able to pick up a temporary job as a painter. I have continued to look for full time employment in ministry but have been unable to find a church that would give me a call to the ministry. As my wife and I prayed and talked about this, she took it upon herself to contact the US Army Chaplaincy Corps for opportunities. They contacted us and to make a long story longer, we are in the process of joining the Army as a chaplain. I do not know why we did not think of this before but God has really moved in our hearts and we are both looking forward to this tremendous opportunity.
But the past several weeks have been very challenging. My father went into the hospital with chest pain on the right-side of his body (not heart related as we found out), and we discovered that he has AML (a type of Leukemia). After my father was released and we were preparing to fight the AML, my mother had a massive heart attack and died. One of the hardest things I have had to do is comfort my father in the emergency room and watch my mom's heart stop beating. This happened just over two weeks ago.
I gave the eulogy at her service and the next day, we took Dad to the hospital to begin chemotherapy treatments. Needless to say this has put my faith to the test. Do I really believe in the God of the Bible? Do I really believe in His Son? I can now answer without hesitation: absolutely!
Having gone through all of the physical preparation for the Army and the mental preparation for my ordination exams, this emotional shock has forced me to look at my faith under the surface. Did I believe in the truths of the Bible that I had preached to other people? As much as my Mom's death hurts and watching Dad get chemo to kill the cancer (and all that entails), I think these events have put into sharp focus what I and my parents believe.
While I do question the timing of all these things, I trust that God knows what He is doing. I am thankful that He has the control and that I do not.
So there it is. There is even a possibility that I could get shipped off to basic before Dad gets home from the hospital (the timing is close but I think I will still be here). I need to finish my written exams and paper so I can proceed to the oral examination for ordination. When it rains it pours.