First wake up call from God

As I talked about in my last post I believe that there have been multiple times were God has slapped me upside the head. Although I did not realize it at the time I believe the first time that God did this was in December 2002. This is one of the hardest things for me to talk about for two reasons. One is that I have to admit that I had an addiction and two I lost my Grandma at this time.

First is my addiction to alcohol. I was at a point in my life where I was spending too much time in a bar. What hit me was that when I walked into the bar the bartender had my beer waiting for me when I got to her. This was a sign to me that I was spending to much time at this place. I had my first drink when I was fifteen and I continued to drink throughout high school. The college years were worse, but I always told myself that I could stop. I would stop for awhile and then pick up right were I left off.

Second is the loss of my Grandma. She was one of the strongest persons that I have ever met. She had a battle with Ovarian cancer that lasted longer than most with that type of cancer. When she was first told she had cancer she said that she had lived a good life and she was ready for whatever was in store for her. She ended up seeing three of her grandchildren married and also her first great-grandchild.

This is where God slapped me upside the head. The night that my grandma passed on I was at the bar doing what I was normally doing. I could not drive myself home that night and had to have my sister and brother-in-law come pick me up and take me to my parents house. At this point I realized that something had to change. Ten days after my grandma passed I went out with an amazing (hot) girl for the first time. This girl happened to have a three and a half year old daughter that was so cute. They are now my wife and daughter. God took one angel from me and replaced her with two.

I have always believed that everything happens for a reason and that there is a God. At the time that this all took place I was not ready to accept Christ into my life. It took me a long time and more head slaps before I started to follow Christ. I will write about more of these head slaps in the posts that follow.