4 - The Calling -

On March 1st, 2023, I had an experience that changed my life. It was close to midnight and I was updating my resume on my computer. I realize it's an odd time for working on one’s resume, but I’m a night owl and the mood struck me.  Out of nowhere, the words “Glory be to God!” and “Praise be to God” repeated loudly and rapidly in my mind. It wasn't a singular voice that I had heard, but that of dozens of individuals. It was overwhelming. I had never experienced anything remotely like that. I was frozen in place and tears streamed down my face.

I can only describe what followed as a “download” of information. A succinct message from God was delivered in a blink of an eye. I was instructed to study the Bible, to go to church, and to spread His word. I remember having goosebumps and feeling cold. I had read stories about people having first-hand experiences with God that had irrevocably changed their lives, but I didn’t believe them. And now it was happening to me and it was a complete shock to my system. 

God had reached out to me, someone who wasn’t entirely convinced he even existed. Why reach out to someone like me? Although it didn’t make sense to me at the time, it did so later while reading the Bible. In Luke 5:31-32, when the Pharisees asked Jesus why he chose to dine with tax collector’s and sinners, he replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” In other words, even those who are hopelessly lost can be saved by the grace of God. Sinner that I was, God had invited me to join his flock. 

As quickly as it started, it was over. I got up from my seat and ran to my bedroom to tell my wife. But despite my excitement, I decided not to wake her. She has a deep love for sleep, so I decided to tell her in the morning. But I had to tell someone. 

My younger sister is religious, so I quickly wrote her a message on Facebook Messenger about the calling. When I was finished writing, I promptly went to bed. But before I fell asleep, I told myself that if I woke up in the morning and still felt the elation I was currently basking in, then it was the real deal. But If I woke up and felt groggy and grumpy, like I do every morning, then I would know that it was a figment of my imagination, or worse, I was losing it.  Given the events of the previous year, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were psychological repercussions.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt groggy and grumpy. It was disappointed. I quickly ran to my computer and deleted the Facebook message I had sent my sister. Not long afterward, I received a text from my sister asking me why I had deleted the message I had sent her. I told her that I thought the experience didn’t happen. I told her that it was probably just a temporary break in reality. But having said that, I wished I hadn’t erased the message because I had forgotten what I had written. Interestingly enough, she had taken a screenshot of the message. Who does that? If it were me, I’d assume that the message would be sitting in my inbox forever. Why take a screenshot? But that got me thinking. Maybe it was a sign from God, confirming that was I had experienced had really happened. So, she sent me my message as a screenshot. It was weird reading words that I had no recollection of writing not less than 24-hours ago. I’ll share what I wrote in a future post.  

As my wife was getting ready for work, I told her about the calling and that I thought it was all in my head. She gave me a hug and said, “Just go with it and see where it takes you.” Somehow that made sense to me. What did I have to lose by going with the flow? So that’s exactly what I did. I opened my heart to the possibility that what I had experienced was real. And what followed was nothing short of incredible. 

God bless.