The next thing  “I had to do”   was to go to this   “local fundamentalist evangelical church in the Baptist Tradition”… I really liked the pastor.  We got along great.  The folks there thought I was a bit  “over the top”  about my excitement over finding God… told me:    “it is ok… but it’ll wear off in a couple months… then you will be just like the rest of us”…  I knew one thing for sure… I did not EVER want to be  like the rest of them.

At this point, I thought that God  “intervened”  in my life from time to time… in order to  keep me going in the right direction.  I was on a sales call up in Albany and heading back to Jersey… Thought I’d best get some gas at the next thruway station down near Kingston, and not push the envelope on that needle nearing  empty…

Pulled off and started yakking with the gas attendant… (yes… people pumped your gas and cleaned your windshield back in those days…)   He was the friendliest guy I ever met… the gas tank was almost filled when he said to me…  “I got a lot of faith but that isn’t gonna get this windshield cleaned.”   Next thing you know, we are having this great conversation about the Lord and I sovereignly meet somebody just as excited about meeting Jesus as I was…. and it wasn’t in a Church.   Again… sovereignly… no other cars pulled in for service, until he had told me all about his brother way down in Pennsylvania… and… if I should ever be out that way just stop and say hello.

He also told me about a pastor in Philadelphia who was connected with the Charismatic Movement (whatever that was) and he would come up to meetings in Kingston.  He would love to have me come up some time to one of those meetings.

This was the beginning of my discovery that God didn’t just  intervene  in people’s lives… He was in  control of everything  to bring about  His purpose  in my life… and.. He planned exactly what had to happen   next   each step of the way.  What if  I was told how God actually works (with stories of how it happened in my life)…  instead of  getting all involved in church systems that are cluelessly giving answers to questions that have never been asked.

obviously… it took me a few years to simply trust Him in that… relax… and just enjoy the journey….     On the ‘morrow…  🙂