Speaking in the Light – 12-1

I grew up Roman Catholic and as a young student of the Notre Dame of Mount Carmel School and Parish of Cedar Knolls, New Jersey, thought that some day when I grew up that I would become a Priest. I have always been drawn to knowing God and a deep longing to be with Him and even then I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that life is definitely as much spiritual as it is physical.
Just because I couldn’t see it with my eyes, did not mean I couldn’t see it with my soul! Most of my life has been a wonderful journey that has allowed me to sojourn between life as it is here and now and life as it is beyond the door of the wardrobe so to speak, if I may borrow from C.S. Lewis. Faith to me is not just a compartment of my being, it is an essential ingredient to my being.
Another non-negotiable of my spirit, I was soon to learn, was a yearning to be a husband and a father someday. I was not born a rambling man- but definitely a family kind of guy! I wanted to find the right girl to spend my one and only life with and if the Good Lord would allow it, I desired to be a Daddy to children that I could call my own.
I realized that God had put those longings inside of me and I also sensed that His calling upon my life would be as a Minister so I could be an instrument of His grace to a flock and a family! So for the last 28 years I have been Pastor Rudy and been blessed beyond measure by being allowed to experience a wonderful life.
It will be 28 years ago this Sat., Dec. 4, that I stood at the end of a church aisle in Lebanon, Pa. waiting anxiously as a beautiful and very tearful 20-year-old girl named Theresa was escorted by her Father to become my lawfully wedded wife. I knew that I had hit the jackpot because Terri is everything that I am not and her opposites have by divine design, along with what I have brought to the union, has allowed us to complete one another to make the ideal couple. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat because I honestly could not have imagined this adventure with any other partner.
And as my witness before the very God whom I owe my daily existence to, I can’t imagine me without being married to Terri. So I am thankful that this Catholic boy got to grow up to see his dreams come true and the highlight of my story is that I know the best is still yet to come and it is going to be fine
One size does not fit all. God does not do the same thing the same way very often in the Bible, so why do we waste so much of our time looking for a pattern or a code? Life cannot always be reduced to a series of steps and principles. It is bone and marrow and soul and sinew. I know the Lord has a distinct path for each and every one of us.
Moses had his burning bush, but nobody else got to see a shrub enflamed. Jacob wrestled an angel, David deciphered music while babysitting sheep, Samson had a holy hairstyle that made him an incredible knock-out, Peter left dead fish to catch living men, and Paul got knocked off his horse by a Guiding Light that packed quite the powerful punch.
What I am trying to say is that too many people say to me, Pastor Rudy, such and such a thing just doesn’t work,” and I couldn’t agree more. “It” never works- but “God” does.
God always had a plan for me. My Catholic upbringing was essential to my pilgrimage. Everything culminated in my not being dependent upon rituals to discover my future, but leaning on my real relationship that I had with my Lord. Don’t be looking for a method when you should be seeking the Master. God’s not a formula or a new group, or an empty exercise to satisfy your mind.
He is a living and loving Person who has a purpose and a plan for you if you only take the time to know Him so you could know the specific way He wants you to go. If you want to know what God wants you to do with the gift of this life, ask Him. God wants you to know Him so that you can genuinely know you. If you follow someone else’s plan, or strategy, or emphasize a program, you tend to forget that the key to it all is dependence upon God. Only God can tell you what to do and when He does, the best response of all is to listen and obey and follow Him all the way.
God wanted me to marry Terri and be a Daddy to Rudy and Leah and Abbie and Joel. He also wanted me to use my profession to make a living profession of faith that shouts to the world that God is at work and His best work is still done in the very ones that He designed by Hand in the first place, you and me. Thank you Lord for my wife, my kids, my church and my life.
Others may not have been so fascinated by it, but that doesn’t matter because these blessings were only meant for me and I can’t imagine what my days would be like without them. My prayer is that others will wait on You Lord, and let You direct them in the way that they should go- a way that leads to a unique life, and a distinct celebration. I am celebrating my destinations today. I love you Terri! I am so glad that you are my chosen by God companion for me! For that is the way He always meant it to be.
Write Pastor Rudy pastorrudytlc@comcast.net
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