About ten years ago, my wife
and I were enjoying our early retirement in Spring Hill, FL. Life was peaceful,
but everything changed when Hurricane Irma devastated the Florida Keys. Our
son, who co-owned a restaurant there, lost his business and home to the storm.
As he worked tirelessly to rebuild his life, our twelve-year-old grandson,
Jake, came to live with us.
Jake, like many pre-teens, was consumed by
video games and struggled with homeschooling. Despite my efforts as a
grandfather to motivate him, nothing seemed to work. One day, in a moment of
frustration, I told him, “Jake, what you need is a big dose of Jesus.” His
defiant reply—”What can Jesus do for me?”—left me stunned and heartbroken. I
couldn’t find the right words to answer him, and that failure weighed heavily
on me.
Determined to reconcile my inability to
share my faith, I turned to the Bible, seeking answers that I still pursue
today. In 1 Peter 3:15, I found the wisdom to “Always be ready to share the
hope you have within, but do it with gentleness and kindness.” Inspired by this
verse, I began writing The Awakening, originally titled Logan’s Story. This journey transformed me and my approach to
faith.
Over the years, The Awakening became
a labor of love. The countless rewrites, edits, proofreads, and yes—more
rewrites—tested my patience but shaped the story into what it is today. Since
then, my writing journey has expanded to include a 72,000-word allegory, Comfort’s Odyssey, a memoir titled Fifty-Two Letters to My
Family, a dramatization of the development of Christianity’s Five Solas,
and years of monthly articles for church newsletters. Each piece reflects the
lessons, hope, and unwavering faith I’ve discovered along the way.
My search for answers began with a storm,
both external and internal. Now, my mission is to invite others on this journey
of discovery and hope. To those who’ve struggled to find the right words,
doubted their faith, or felt the weight of failure—I’ve been there, and I hope
my work can offer.
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