I was born with a health problem where a variety of triggers caused me to become ill easily. Hospital stays, several times in a year, was common. A few times, the doctors believed I would not live. Obviously, God did not let that happen. Because of my illness, I did not develop friends as most children do. My doctors and nurses became my friends of whom my mom knew several of them on a first name basis because of our frequent contact. Since I did not go to daycare, the only time I was around other children was at church and neighborhood friends.

 As I started school, I had a difficult time adjusting. It was challenging given that my illness brought about absences as well as frailness. The physical weakness played its part in my always being chosen last for sport participation, as no one wanted an “ineffective” person on the team. God had a healthier strategy as He brought me other friends. They were in other’s words “rejects” just like me.  During the years of my growing up, I went to the doctor twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday for treatments returning to school after lunch. In all that time, I was able to keep up with the homework as the school district qualified my Mom to home school thus I graduated with my friends. 

Mom and Dad were very active in church serving the Lord as teachers, committee members, board members and my Dad as a Deacon. Through their involvement, I spent a lot of time at church. I always attended Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Revivals, and other events as when the church doors opened, the Wood family was there. I knew that only going to church or believing in God does not make me a Christian, although I never did anything about it until . `. .

  One day at a small country grocery store, my mom and I sat in the car underneath a shade tree while my dad and sister went in shop. I found a Good News “tract” or little booklet revealing about how I can have a relationship with God. The good news was I gained knowledge that God loves me and wanted me to have a relationship with me. It sounded weird that “the man upstairs” wanted me to know Him personally. Nevertheless, I could not began to know God personally because of my sins for the Bible teaches that each of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This means that even me, the son of active born-again churchgoers, has sinned or done something against God or another person. (As a sixth grade boy, I had to agree. I had a sister!) I knew that holiness and un-holiness could not mix. It is like matter/anti-matter or oil/water. It is neither the oil’s fault nor the water’s fault. It just the way things are.

 The Good News booklet said that God loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. However, because of my bad choices, I could not experience that loving relationship with God. God is holy, pure, and perfect. I was not and never would be! Having lived un-holy (sinful) from time to time in my life I feel deeply I could not be in the presence of a holy God. However, there is another side to this story as God recognized that also. Therefore, God sent his one and only son to take away our un-holiness. When God’s son, Jesus, died on the cross, He separated himself (now unholy because of us) from God (who is holy). I do not understand how He did it, but because He did, I can now have a personal loving relationship with Him. When I began to read about that inspiring show of love in the booklet, I talked to my mom and she helped me to pray to become a Christian. I recognized that (1) God loves me and wants me to know Him (2) Sin separates me from God (3) Jesus took my sin upon Him (4) Now I can have a relationship with Him, “the man upstairs”! God was taking care of me before I wanted a relationship with Him!

Now that I have Jesus as my savior and leader, my life has gradually changed. At the end of my sixth grade year, I began playing touch football with some new friends. I continued to play in seventh and eighth grade during recess. I did not always play well, but at least they were accepting me. Touch football was a medical blessing as I had been excused from Physical Education for health reasons and football was my only exercise.

In high school, my friends and I had our own “reserved” table where we met before school and at lunchtime. It was sweet. Sometimes we would triangulate which I despised, as all my friends were valuable to me. However, I did not know how to resolve the problem, so I allowed it to continue even though I knew it was wrong.

Between my sophomore and junior years, I felt God calling me passionately to go into church work. I did not know how or where, but that did not matter, as I knew God had provided and cared for me of all my life. Instead of diverting my energies by only attending church, I began to get more involved in seeking God’s will. Over the next few years, I would preach at nursing homes, helped with Vacation Bible Schools, and even led the group youth.

One day while reading the Bible, I came across Romans 5:8. (A popular verse we tend to read and quote without giving thought to what it says.) It says, "God demonstrated his own love toward us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." It never dawned on me that God loved me BEFORE I loved Him. Despite all my actions, He continued to love me while waiting for me to turn to Him. I prayed and thanked God for the salvation He gave me and for loving me even before I was born. The revelation of serving the Lord and seeking His will was a heart opener.

In my college years, I continued to stay active in college ministries where I eventually became one of the Vice-Presidents of the organization. I was a well-liked and accepted person, not for academics or sports, but for being a friend, willing to help others, and for my moral beliefs. God continued to heal and take care of me with pure love and hope amid my physical challenges.

Today, I am healthier in addition to having a great job in Christian Education, God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and seven cats together with a family that loves me. This “reject” has many friends at church and at work that accepts and loves me as I am. If you have any questions about how to become a Christian, please contact me. I would love to talk with you!