"I thought we had a deal." I boldly began speaking to my benevolent Creator. "I thought in return for my faithful servitude You would protect me and keep me safe from all harm. I've always done my best to serve You. We were doing so well together. You gave me talents and I gave them all back to You. What am I supposed to do now? I dedicated my life to You and for what? For this? I remember when I first prayed to You..."

And in my mind, I drifted back to my childhood and my first experience of faith when my mother taught me to pray. Every night before she tucked me into bed she would have me fold my hands and close my eyes then she would begin, "Now I lay me..."

Then I would echo, "Now I lay me..."

And she and I would continue... "Down to sleep... I pray Thee, Lord... My soul to keep... If I should live... For other days... I pray Thee, Lord... To guide my ways... If I should die... Before I wake... I pray Thee Lord... My soul to take." I prayed that every night throughout my childhood and I was sure there was a God that heard me.

It was a wonderful childhood. I was surrounded by love and I was a very obedient child. I had always had thoughts about God but they were childlike. I thought God was way up beyond the stars and out of my reach. I never really knew how close we could be. At age 15 I was saved* at a revival service and literally became reborn. I got into the Bible more and studied about the life of Jesus. He became more than a Man I talked about for an hour on Sunday and recited a simple prayer to at night. He became the center of my life. I began seeking out those who would talk about Him daily. All my best friends at school were the ones I'd met at church.

I'd hurt my knee playing baseball in 9th grade so my youthful sports interests shifted more into music. My parents had purchased for me a Sears drumset a year before that and it turned out I could play it quite naturally. I'd also bought a guitar at a pawn shop and that, too, was easily learned.

So now my new faith in Jesus was enhanced by my gift for music. I wanted to be a songwriter and now I had something to write about. I began writing Christian songs and singing them for anyone who would listen. I was playing drums and percussion in band at school and guitar and eventually piano to sing my songs at church. I was sure that it was in return for my devotion to God He had given me such a diversified talent for music.

By His grace and mercy I won awards throughout my high school years at various contests for acting as well as music. After receiving the Best Actor and Outstanding Band Member awards my senior year of high school, I went to college at Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a music scholarship. In college the honors continued including winning a campuswide talent show and citations for performance on drums at the Wichita Jazz Festival. I was also one of two drum majors for the marching band for three years and my junior and senior percussion recitals included works I had composed myself. In the meantime I was playing drums for a singing group at church and also singing at area churches for revivals and youth retreats.

As I reached college graduation with a magna cum laude and a Bachelor of Music Education, I figured the sky was the limit and nothing could stop me. As long as I remained true to God, He would give me anything I wanted. I was well aware that He was the Giver of all my gifts and I always gave Him His due praise. I left college with a sheepskin in one hand and the world in another with a heightened anticipation of what my life would become.

*If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be SAVED. (Rom. 10:9 NIV)

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