It's my birthday next

week. On Wednesday, March 3, I will be 34 years old.

Well, my physical self turned

53 on Jan. 15 of this year, but next Wednesday is the day of my "spiritual

birthday." Jan. 15, 1951, was the date of my physical birth; March

3, 1970, was the date I was "born again," in the language of

the evangelicals.

Much of my childhood and youth

was spent in church, although there were long periods of inactivity when

my family slept in on Sundays. One could see Golda Memorial Methodist

Church from our carport in Kingsport, Tennessee. Our house was set on

a hill and, half a mile away, on another hill, sat Golda. Sometime between

the ages of 6 and 11, I walked to Golda with my mom and dad when the weather

was comfortable. I don't remember much about it except that I had to be

quiet and my mom would give me gum to chew during the services. After

I turned 11, we stopped going for some reason.

When I was 15 1/2, I was invited

to Mountain View Methodist Church by two teenage girls named Andrea Carter

and Sherry Cloninger, and the church's pastor, Rev. Fred L. Austin.

For the next 3 years, Mountain View Church and the Methodist Youth Fellowship

were where I spent Sunday mornings and evenings. It was a wonderful time

in a wonderful church. Even though my parents rarely attended, the people

made me feel like the church was "my church."

In February of 1970, having

graduated from high school the previous June, I found myself enduring

the rigors of Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.

Sometimes, people will ask, "Is Parris Island as terrible a place

as I've heard it is?" "No," I always reply, "whatever

you've heard, it's much worse."

Which is why, on March 3, 1970,

this 19-year-old recruit was lying in the bunk (properly called a "rack,"

in Marine Corps lingo), trying to pray. I prayed my usual, "Now I

lay me down to sleep" prayer. I even prayed The Lord's Prayer

that I had learned at Mountain View. Still, God seemed far, far away.

In desperation, I prayed an

honest, if halting, prayer that went something like, "Oh God, if

you are real and if you are in this awful place, please let me know somehow.

I am so afraid and I am so discouraged. I just don't think I'm

going to make it. If you will let me know you are here, my life is yours."

Then, I waited. No voice from

heaven, no lightning, no thunder - just the quiet sounds of a Marine

Corps squad bay with sixty sleeping Marine recruits. I eased out of the

rack, grabbed my flashlight, and rummaged through my footlocker until

I found a small booklet that the Navy chaplain had given to me a few weeks

earlier.

I covered my head with the

green wool blanket, opened the booklet for the first time ever, turned

on the flashlight, and pointed it at the page. The words that leaped off

the page were these:

"Fear thou not; for I

am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee;

yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of

my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10 KJV)

It seemed as though another

presence had entered the room. I felt as though I was no longer alone.

Indeed, the presence remained with me throughout boot camp. Throughout

that ordeal, I felt encouraged, assisted, and strengthened. In fact, throughout

that past 34 years, God has always been faithful. I have not always kept

my promise to give him my life - but he has never abandoned or deserted

me.

Rev. Austin wrote to me and

encouraged me throughout boot camp. I even shared my story of "meeting

God" at Mountain View Church during a church service some months

later. The Church was a significant force is preparing me to encounter

God and, for 34 years, the Church, in its many expressions, has continued

to strengthen and influence my life.

Sometimes, pastors and theologians

make knowing God too difficult and too complicated. In 2 Corinthians 5:19,

Paul said, "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not

counting their trespasses against them" (ASB). In other words, God,

through Jesus, was bring the world back home to himself and was not holding

their sins against them. God is not mad at us! He just wants us to come

home to him. He yearns to forgive us, he desires to give us a supernatural

way of living, and he wants to help us fulfill our destiny. It all starts

with having a "spiritual birthday."

St. Paul also taught, "For,

if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your

heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans

10:9 ASB). How hard is that?

A learned and aged theologian

was asked to share the most profound truth he had learned in all his decades

of study. Without hesitation, he said, "Jesus loves me, this I know.

For the Bible tells me so." It's so simple that a child -

or a frightened and discouraged 19-year-old kid - can understand

and apprehend it.

[Father David Epps is rector

of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which is at 4881 Ga.

Highway 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. He may be contacted at [email protected].

The church, which meets at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sundays, has a Web site

at www.ctkcec.org.]