It is 2012 and I’ve been a disciple of Jesus for 14 years. In 1997, however, I was a divorced, disillusioned Navy Sailor in my late thirties stationed in San Diego. I had been in the Navy nearly twelve years by that time. Since I had missed promotion to my next level four years in a row, I threw myself into my work with an intensity that soon garnered me recognition as the command’s Sailor of the Year. But…
My personal life was one of loneliness, my finances were a mess, and I didn’t know why I had fought the Navy personnel assignment system for such a long time to get to San Diego.
Then a meeting one evening at a local coffee house changed my life forever. Though I did not know it at the time, I was chatting with a couple of disciples, and before we parted the woman invited me to come to church. I had never been to a church service other than in a church building or synagogue, but at that time that region of the San Diego Church of Christ met in a park activity center. I was struck immediately upon arriving that Sunday by two remarkable things: the people were genuinely warm and friendly, and there was a true sense of God’s presence there.
I had known God existed since childhood – my father was Jewish and my mother, raised Presbyterian, was an Episcopalian. But I had little understanding of God’s Word, Spirit, or His desire for a relationship with me. In part this was due to my uneducated reading of the Old Testament scripture, as well as my reaction to my father’s debilitating stroke (before I turned 5 years old). My family’s marital issues added to a general belief of an aloof deity. By my mid-thirties I had reached spiritual bottom.
Neither consuming alcohol nor spending money on credit dulled the pain of loneliness, frustration, and bitterness. In 1995, after a horrible week in September with undiagnosed appendicitis, it burst. After recovery from the surgery, I vowed to search for God intensely. In many places there seemed to be “good” people, but I didn’t sense God’s presence.
While I was in the Navy, serving aboard ship in San Diego, one of my friends would continually ask me to come to his church during the Sundays that we were not working nor at sea. When I finally did relent to his continual invitations, I could not recall the directions or how to get hold of him. A weekend or so later came that life-altering summer evening at the coffee house in Lakeside. After studying the Bible for three months, I was baptized into Christ at a congregational men’s devotional. And it was revealed that my Navy co-worker was another disciple!
A few months later, I was being challenged by the singles’ ministry leader to encourage the single sisters. (Dating? I was trying to emulate the Apostle Paul.) I dug through my scraps of paper for the name of the woman who had invited me to church five or six months earlier. Today, Sheri, the sister who invited me, is my wife of 11 years. When I married, I became an instant father to three sons. Though I had privately asked God for years to be a father someday, I had no idea how close I had to remain In Christ to succeed!
Yes, God got me. I am secure in my relationship with God, with my spouse, my kids, and my church. God surely knows what He is doing! To God be the glory!
Eric Saretsky – El Cajon, California
International Churches of Christ
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