Bathtubs and Warm Water

Something startled me--a noise, distant and faint, like the tinkling of a tiny bell swaying on a Christmas tree. It was a man’s voice--and it kept getting louder and louder until it woke me. Apparently, I had dozed off for a moment while watching television.

Fully awake now, I heard the words, "Divine Connections." Joel Osteen, the television evangelist, was explaining how God put people and situations into his life so that he could accomplish his goals. He was the son of a pastor, and was taught to pray for help whenever he was at a crossroads. It worked for him. It got him to where he is today.

Often, a person can spend a lifetime without seeing the big picture. I, myself, was so overwhelmed by the mundane aspects of just getting through every day--going to college, rearing children, and earning a living--that I missed the importance of spirituality. No, I didn't really miss it, I just kept putting it off. I was scared of it.

At a very young age I became aware of this constant gnawing in the pit of my stomach, like the feeling you get when you know you should do a school assignment but keep delaying it. I interpreted it to mean that I had been assigned to do an important task. It was always there, undone, because I didn’t know what this tremendous thing was. Unconsciously, I started searching for it. I tried many activities, went down various avenues, but still wasn't free of this uneasy feeling.

One day I noticed that everything I was touching, seeing and hearing at that moment was related to the spiritual. My neighbor had given me a book to read written by the young preacher, Joel Osteen. A DVD that arrived in the mail was titled, "The Spiritual Brain."”My daughter, Virginia, phoned and told me that her husband was urging her to get back to attending church regularly. Everything around me was reminding me to think about spirituality. This time I did, and all of a sudden I realized the uneasiness had left me.

I thought about my life, how God had woven everything together to bring me to this point of quiet faith. If I tell my story, will it be the inspiration for readers to examine their lives and experience the joy of discovering their own journey? I hope so. To help readers get the whole story, I must start at the beginning, so...