When I was a junior in High School, the nation was in chaos – a real mess. As the psychedelic, “flower power” generation was emerging I was intrigued. I found the poetry of Allen Ginsberg way cool. My mind was all mixed up. Sure, I was a believer but there were so many new way cool, beatnik things happening. I was just a small-town Iowa teenager, and there seemed to be so much fascinating stuff out there.
Then one day, my Dad came to me and asked, “Would you like to go to California for the summer?” “Wow! Would I?” I shouted.
He arranged everything. He put me on the train in Burlington, Iowa and two days later I arrived in Oakland, CA., where Aunt Grace picked me up in her little VW bug. She worked for the Home of Peace, a Bed-n-Breakfast that helped missionaries on their way to the field. That summer I worked there making beds and doing kitchen chores. Looking back, I can see this was one of the most important things in my life.
The year before I had received my call to be a missionary in Africa. It was really hard to say, “Yes!” Because it always seemed to me that missionaries were weird. They wore outdated, odd clothes, and their hair styles were so old fashioned. When they stood in front of the congregation, they showed slides that bored me to death. I did not want to be a missionary.
At the Home of Peace everything shifted. There was a family going out to the Philippines. The most amazing thing is that they had a red 1959 Chevrolet. That was so cool. We went together to San Francisco in it one day and that was totally cool. I saw that a missionary could be in touch with the culture and at the same time be committed to being a missionary in an unreached area of the world.
Another very important thing happened at the Home of Peace. You know I was fighting an internal battle. Was the Bible true? How do I know it is or isn’t? Who is God? Can I trust Him? Does prayer work? How can I be alone in my bedroom and when I pray, the words go straight up through the ceiling, roof and atmosphere and into God’s Presence. Then the other big question was this, “Okay! So I can more or less sort these things out but what about the rapture.” My Mom really believed in the rapture. That was really far out and impossible! This puzzled me and looked like a great impossibility. If this was untrue then what about the other questions that nagged me and caused me to doubt the things I had been taught.
One night I was in my little bed in the Home of Peace. I suddenly woke up to this rumbling sound. Without thinking, this statement came to my mind. “O, that Jesus! He’s coming.” Then I expected my body to rise up off the bed and go directly to heaven. It was so real. After a minute or two, I realized I wasn’t being raptured. It was some jets flying out of Alameda Air Station. I was so disappointed. This experience was so real I never doubted the rapture again. I never seriously doubted the supernatural again.
In the midst of all this assault on my mind, one day I stopped and asked myself this core question. “What is real and true?” Immediately, I suddenly realized that at the core of my being this one truth existed, “He loves me. I can never walk away from the One who loves me.” I was and am His and His alone. This has served as the anchor to my soul. Always remember! Whatever dream He puts into your heart. Whatever call he puts on your life Whatever ambition he embeds in you. He can and will fulfill! Your part is to be faithful, obey and keep the fire of love for Him burning!