I'm Thankful...

You know, I've had this rolling around in my system for some time and haven't put it in words yet. Maybe it is time to do so.

I remember in 1998, when I was convicted of sin and the need for Christ, I was working at Western Illinois University at the time. Before my conversion, the place was "ok", I guess. Lots of stuff there, things to do. but after my conversion, it became a very dark and scary place. WIU is known as a "Party College". And I mean a "Party College" in the truest sense of the word. The university sits in McDonough County, Illinois which has a very high concentration of witchcraft. My guess is that it's connected with many of the university staff, but who knows.

About a year after my conversion, we moved back to my home town and commuted to Macomb from my town. As I drove into the area down there, I could sense a "darkness". Kind of like going into a tunnel. It was very intimidating. Finding little glimpses of light here and there, the Lord kept me pointed in the right direction, and I'm thankful.

But I hated that time. There were conflicts that the job brought to me -- fixing computers for faculty so they could foist their evolutionary fantasies on the students, fixing printers so the "women's center" could print and spread abortion propoganda. Seeing GBLFA stickers on office doors....you know "Gay Safe Zones". It was a struggle. But, you know, I can now see God at work even then.

I was getting a foretaste of what is happening around our country now that almost a decade (hard to believe) has passed. Some of the things that I saw then on the campus, I now see and hear about as a general matter-of-course in our society. I hear of "hate crimes legislation" and all that on the radio, and I remember all the talk I heard at the university. The solution now is the same as it was then; "Trust in the Lord with all your heart..."

I'm thankful for the experiences I had at the university. I kind of suspected it then, but now I'm more convinced; the Lord was allowing me to be stretched and to get a fortaste of what I'd be seeing and hearing now.

The Lord certainly does "...cause all things to work for the good..." Ultimately, things like this prepare us for the greater trials when they come later.