I was on my way to get my new green pin-striped nursing shirt for entrance into nursing school. There was this tall man in my class. He asked me for a ride. On the way there, I asked him where his car was.
"Well,....I lost my license for a DUI", he said. I found that very interesting. Considering the fact that at that time I was sober in AA for some 10 years! Coincidence?...I think not. As I began to do my best to get through to him about alcoholism, he was not shy with his own opinion of things. As the conversation turned to God, he espoused his "certain" belief that God is in everything. "God is in the rocks, and the trees, and in all of us. He's in everything", he stated. I politely listened. After much pontificating on his part we arrived to the place to get our shirts. I don't remember much else about that day, but I do know that the Lord had put us together for a purpose; what it was I wasn't sure, but I knew that I would be seeing him again.
During that first year of nursing school we had contact on and off. I think he was being forced to go to AA at the time so I had conversations with him about sobriety on and off. I remember him looking rougher and rougher in school that year. I could tell he was not winning the battle against alcohol. I really don't remember when, but the relationship turned at some point. Next thing I remember was him wanting to stay sober and being more willing to listen to what I had to say about staying sober. Our relationship grew and we became closer. I've learned over the years that when God puts someone in my life who has a problem with booze or drugs, then I am to share my life with them; to not hold back about my past. To tell them the way it was for me and how God has saved me from a life of living hell. We kept in close touch after nursing school too. In fact he came and lived with me for a month and a half but said he "couldn't handle it". I didn't know what that meant but he went off to live with his brother. I had given so much of myself to this man. I had been brutally honest with him, seen him give his life to the Lord as best he could and also seen great strides in his life as he allowed God to take over. He was pretty much gone from my life now. I would talk to him occassionally on the phone, but he would go off on some tangent about what HE thinks the Bible says and how I should do this and everyone else should do that; to put it bluntly, I.... was annoyed. He had gotten himself in such a mess with his own promiscuity that he had a son born out of wedlock and now the woman didn't even want to be with him or his son! ...and yet HE was trying to now tell me the things of God! I was more than a little annoyed.
I lost touch with him after that and wasn't too upset about it. I felt he was judgemental and besides, I would tell myself, he never listens to me anyway! It seemed that no matter what I suggested to do, he would not do, and the things I would suggest he not do.... he would do! While I wanted to just shake his dust off my feet and move on, I felt hurt. We give of ourselves to others in hopes of them turning things around and getting closer to God. I so wanted him to understand what I was saying. I read to him from the scriptures often and would explain so many things to him and I just felt like nothing got through. I was dejected in my spirit. I recall being resolved to the fact that it was not useless because it's always right to give your heart when you feel the Lord urging you to do so. Besides, it was worth it. I enjoyed our friendship. His life did get better. I will get over the fact that he didn't want to listen to me anymore. God bless him and godspeed is how I felt.
As the years went by, I often wondered what had become of him. How was his child doing now? I tried tracking him down on the internet a few times over the years but to no avail, until this particular weekend in May of 2007. I saw his name on a google search connected to an ipodcast of a sermon by a Chris Bogosh. When I got home that night from work, I downloaded it to my computer. It took but 5 seconds to pick up that Boston accent. I knew it was him! I found his phone number the next day through a white pages search in Massachusetts. Then I made a call........