We moved to South Texas in 1969 as I had accepted a teaching position at a small junior college. Once there one of the “perks” that I was given was a membership to the Country Club. Several of my friends at the college were golfers and of course, I was invited to play. I was such a competitive person that the challenge of the game was so much that not only was I playing on the weekends I also would take off at noon and run out and play 9 holes as I had purchased a golf cart, so it was easy to complete a round in an hour and a half and get back in time to teach my classes. Golf became my God. I was asked to serve as the tournament director for the club and therefore required more of my time to organize and play in various golf tournaments.
In the meantime, while this was happening, I began to drink alcohol to the extent that it became normal to me rather than a sporadic drinker. I was drinking quite a bit when I played golf but also, we lived in school housing and the district coaches were our neighbors the drinking continued as we would go hunting, fishing, or attending cookouts. Many times, I walked into the house drunk. I look back now and see that I was moving toward becoming an alcoholic.
At that time Myrna and I lived in the same house but basically were living separate lives. When we got married, I decided that I was not going to church as I had had enough when I was made to go by my parents. So, for about 10 years I don’t believe we ever set foot in a church service. I had accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was about 10 years old and I remember that very vividly, but unfortunately, I later turned my back and started doing what the world was doing.
When Myrna received Christ as her Savior, the transformation was unbelievable. I noticed the change immediately, but I thought that it was just a temporary change and that I would give it more time to see if she maintained her zeal for the Lord. She constantly was reading the Bible and listening to Christian TV channels and of course she would make sure that the volume was turned up high enough that I could also hear what was going on. I was still playing golf and drinking during this time.
She asked me if I would take her to church and of course, I said no but that she was free to go if she wanted. This went on for quite a while until I could see that the changes had not faded but had gotten stronger with her. She was radically changed just like Paul on the road to Damascus. After a period of time, she kept asking me if I would like to go to church, and one day, I decided that I would. This was a nondenominational church, and the church service was very different from what I was used to.
After that, I began to attend more and could see that the road, I was going down was leading to destruction. Shortly after she prayed that I would quit drinking and did not even tell me, but I was ready and able to quit and did so. It was God’s timing. Since that time when I rededicated my life to Jesus Christ, I have never had the desire to drink alcohol. Then I accepted a job at UTB (University of Texas at Brownsville) in 1978 and we moved to Brownsville and have been in South Texas ever since. My Christian walk has been in place for more than 40 years, and I am glad that the Lord had mercy on me and my family.
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