Lee and I were both raised as Christians. He in the Dutch Reformed and I in the Lutheran church.
We were both confirmed in our faith.
Then Life stepped in–Lee always maintained that it took him close to 20 years to de-contaminate himself from college–and in my case I faced the grungy nuts-and-bolts of divorced parenthood in Newark NJ–keeping the rent paid, the lights on, and food on the table. Lee said many of his more radical professors schmoozed the students by telling them how brilliant they were, that their parents didn’t know anything and that they (the students) were the best of the best. Of course, the students agreed completely.
We met and married and were…busy. Always things to do.
Lee had always been an expert on Popular Culture. In fact he was going to edit a magazine (which never materialized) entitled Popular Culture.
We began to be aware that rot had set in to our culture after a few years. I never believed that abortion would become a billion dollar a year industry; we all heard the slimy chirping of Dr. Ruth about good sex. Never mind sex with love, or meaning, or purpose, just mindless physical gratification. People stopped getting married. A huge percentage of babies were being born out of wedlock.
Things were going down the toilet, fast.
Somehow we both began to realize that the only answer was God. We had always been believers, but weren’t doing anything about it. We began reading the Bible. We started saying Grace before supper. Small things, true, but very impactful. We started to be -not different people, but better people. Lee’s Mom noticed the change in him. God and His Word became an integral part of life and eventually became the whole foundation of it.
The wonderful freedom of putting yourself in God’s hands was indescribable. The assurance of Salvation, the reality of it all just took over. Life became good, really good.
If this is a little disjointed, I apologize.
I know zero theology, but I know I will see Jesus, I know I am loved and saved and have faith like I never had before
Without it I would be a basket case.
God bless everybody
Patty
Oh, Patty, how beautiful! And how wonderful to hear more about you and Lee. God bless you.
I was raised by a mother who was a member of a very strict, very controlling religion. She taught me from the Bible, which was good, but over the years, I came to realize that her chosen church had become centered upon manmade rules, more than scripture.
The late ‘60s, and onward into the ‘70s, were times of much change. There was talk of the “New Morality”, which was just the old immorality, renamed. Even though I was raised to live by strict biblical morality, I was still affected by the atmosphere of permissiveness all around me. I felt like the odd man out, but I am grateful that my parents made clear their expectations, and more importantly, God’s standards. This kept me free and clear of serious trouble.
Looking back, I’m surprised by how much moral temptation there was, even in the peaceful neighborhoods our family lived in. Even back in the ‘60s, there were kids in the neighborhood pushing the limits and temptations could appear without warning. That’s why I am a strong believer that parents need to explain the facts of life to their children early on, and make their moral expectations clear. If the parents don’t stay ahead of this, other children, or the school system will provide that information and the moral guidance of the parents will likely not be nearly as effective.
As to religion; I had to have some serious talks with myself, and some serious talks with God. I saw the folly in manmade rules and the control imposed by religions that seek to superimpose their opinions over the word of God. There was an inflection point when I realized that my mother’s approach was not flawless, and I began to understand why my father had quit practicing the manmade rules of my mother’s chosen religion, but continued to lead a moral and sober life, which adhered to the Bible.
For me, it became simple and obvious, I needed to adhere to scripture and not worry about pleasing men. As soon as I realized this, my understanding of scripture seemed to steadily improve and my ability to remember verses from the Bible improved also. Sadly, by the time I realized this, my father had passed away, so I never got to discuss these conclusions with him.
But if the moral climate of the ‘60s and ‘70s was challenging, the moral climate of today has gone off scale. Merely suggesting that there are such things as moral standards will invite the scorn of many in our day. I can’t even imagine how challenging it must be to raise children, in such an environment. The good news is that we still have God’s word, and can benefit from its moral guidance, now more than ever. I do fellowship with others, in an informal setting, discussing biblical teachings and endeavoring to see things the way the earliest Christians would have, before manmade traditions sought to conform Christianity to human traditions and Greco/Roman beliefs.
Amen to that!
When I began to weed out the traditions and go only by scripture, life got a lot simpler.
It is such a good thing when spouses accompany each other on their journey to Christ and then with Christ to our eternal home. There are so many cases where spouses go off in different directions in their spiritual lives, leading to disharmony and often divorce. Both scenarios have deep effects on their children.
Hi Michele
I meant to reply to you the other day, but better late than never. Yes, we were blessed when Christ came in and took over our lives at the same time