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Called by God

One particular otherwise uneventful day, back in 2011, I was just idly sitting around in my living room at my home in Troutdale, Oregon. Out of the blue, I, an agnostic non-churchgoer, had an abrupt and strong urge to go to church. This was very out of character for me, but I didn’t question it because it felt so good to want to go to church, and also to know I was about to go to church—very abnormal for me back then.

Immediately, I went to my car and made use of my GPS navigation unit to locate the nearest church. To my delight, I found that there was one just a very short distance from my home: Troutdale Community Church. I then immediately walked to TCC. It was a Thursday, so I didn’t feel at all sure I would find anyone there. Lucky for me, it was their pastor’s office day, and I was able to talk with two pastors for a while, and they invited me to return on Sunday for their weekly service. Thank you very much, Pastors Bart and Tom, for being so very helpful and kind throughout my experiences at TCC. You guys are awesome!

The following Sunday, after that first visit on a Thursday, I did attend their service. After the service, there was a social gathering in their fellowship hall, which I stayed for. I talked with various people, and eventually I found myself talking with a very nice fellow named James. We were enjoying a pleasant conversation when he asked what had brought me to TCC. I replied with the story about suddenly having an unexpected urge to go to church. To which he replied, “Oh, God called you.” Until then, I hadn’t even considered such a thing, so I just sort of acknowledged that perhaps it was possible God had called me and left it at that.

After the church activities were finished, I went home and thought about what James had said. I realized that, as a very stubborn agnostic who was absolutely convinced that the answers I needed could not and would not be found in any church, it didn’t make any sense to me why I would, seemingly on a whim, go running off to church unless God really had called me. So, I quickly became convinced that James was correct.

The following Sunday, I returned to TCC for their next service. Afterward, at the social gathering, I kept an eye out for James. I wanted to share my realization with him. After a few minutes, I spotted him and went over to talk with him about it. Here’s where this story gets a little, or a lot, strange. I approached James, and we exchanged greetings. I then excitedly confirmed with James that he had been correct. God did call me. What happened next, I cannot explain. James seemed to have two very different reactions at the same time. I saw both of them happen with my own eyes, and it was very, very disorienting! One reaction seemed to be that James mildly and calmly said something to the effect of “Oh, that’s so good,” then continued chatting pleasantly with me. The other reaction I saw at the same moment was James bursting into tears and hurrying away without further comment.

So anyhow, that is the story of myself being called by God and of my enlightening and inspiring but also confusing conversations with James. I hope to talk again with him someday. Perhaps, if we compare notes, we can figure out what happened in that second conversation.

God bless everyone!

P.S. To another pastor I met along the way in this journey we all share: I swear that what I said to you years ago is true, and I imagine that even if it wasn’t clear then, it is quickly becoming so… What all this is, there isn’t anyone who is going to love it more than you! God bless you. I hope we meet again!

Recently read books…

• Star Trek Enterprise: Rosetta, by Dave Stern
• Star Trek The Original Series: Starfleet Academy, by Diane Carey
• Star Wars Old Galactic Republic Era: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, by Drew Karpyshyn
• Live Right and Find Happiness (Although beer is much faster), by Dave Barry
• Star Wars Old Republic Era: Darth Bane: Rule of Two, by Drew Karpyshyn

Starting a new book next… not sure yet which one, though.