“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
My confidence level that I would be more than a janitor or
painter, like my dad, was engrained deep in my mind. I was truly locked into “I was what I thought
I was” -a nothing burger that would never reach the next step in the
ladder. But I need to make a point here:
my attitude had not one iota the attitude that God had of me; however, that
would become abundantly clear to me later in my life.
Like many young folks today, I was totally ill equipped to
handle being on my own on a college campus.
In my two-year tenure in college I went from probation, to double
probation and finally the dean called me in and said “Son, at the rate you are
going, it will take you seventeen years to graduate.
For the next two years I did what I had learned to do very
well, “floundered” but God was in the process of getting me ready to enter into
that phase of my life called “Don’t get to comfortable”. I fooled him
and accomplished that goal in twelve years! Steps
one and two came fairly close together;
I met this girl, a Cadillac kind of girl, and I did not feel I was
worthy to even consider a relationship.
But, when God is doing the programming, one should never not
at least see if the door is ajar. A
lesson I learned during this tenure was open every door of opportunity and let
Him shut it, if it is not His will for your life.
The second door was a second major change. In 1955 I received a
letter from my friends and neighbors that said, “Your help is needed in the
United States Army.” But coming from a
flying family, I chose to by-pass the two- year hitch and joined the Air Force
for four years! It was during this time
that my attitude began to change and began to feel that perhaps I had some
value on this earth.
Now this epistle could turn into a book so let me cut to the
chase and free you to go about your day.
In the Air force they did not ask me or beg me to step up to the line to
become a productive airman, they said, “You will do it! You will use your God-given talents and
become an Air Traffic Controller- the top of all career fields that opened the
door for a career job after my AF Service days ended.
The doors were now open, and it was up to me to walk through
them. I proposed to that Cadillac I
mentioned above and amazing to me, she said yes. We married in 1957.
After we completed my tenure as an airman the door opened for a career job with the Federal Aviation Agency. But remember the statement, “Don’t get to comfortable?” By this time we had two little ones and changes were being made in FAA and I did not feel they were in the best interest of my family to adapt to the new changes. Sooo it was to that place the Dean said it would take me seventeen years to graduate - but this time it was with a different attitude! Kermit and father in law 1963 One month later
After we completed my tenure as an airman the door opened for a career job with the Federal Aviation Agency. But remember the statement, “Don’t get to comfortable?” By this time we had two little ones and changes were being made in FAA and I did not feel they were in the best interest of my family to adapt to the new changes. Sooo it was to that place the Dean said it would take me seventeen years to graduate - but this time it was with a different attitude! Kermit and father in law 1963 One month later
Now, let me wrap this up, the message I am trying to give to
you- who feel you have nothing to offer God. Your worse enemy is the person who greets you
every morning on your bathroom mirror.
When God wired you before birth He installed His wiring system unto you and that wiring system consists of the plateaus He wants to give you in your life. But as mentioned above, we can lock ourselves into a low rung on the totem pool by believing “We are what we think”. It is like the principle of the Seed Planter! Doctor Luke wrote, “If we give, God will give back to us” (Luke 6:33). Does that mean just giving to others? I do not think so, for it is like the speech that the Flight Attendance give on every aircraft: “If oxygen fails in the plane, put on your oxygen mask on first- so you will be able to put the mask on others”.
Kermit before leaving CA
One last point before I close: In that same verse given to
us by Luke, he goes on and uses a wonderful word not once but three times. That word is ‘”measure”’. Luke says, “If
you give, I (God) will pour into your
lap in the good measure running over.”
Now zero in on the next phrase: “But, by your standard of measure it
will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38).
When God wired you before birth He installed His wiring system unto you and that wiring system consists of the plateaus He wants to give you in your life. But as mentioned above, we can lock ourselves into a low rung on the totem pool by believing “We are what we think”. It is like the principle of the Seed Planter! Doctor Luke wrote, “If we give, God will give back to us” (Luke 6:33). Does that mean just giving to others? I do not think so, for it is like the speech that the Flight Attendance give on every aircraft: “If oxygen fails in the plane, put on your oxygen mask on first- so you will be able to put the mask on others”.
Kermit before leaving CA
Do you get the point?
When I realized God was ready to move me to higher ground, I had to be
ready, willing and work hard to follow the way He prepared for that climb! I know this works because he took my raw
protoplasm – the person who was locked into the cellar and broke me free from
the bondages that I had placed on myself!
Go thou and do Likewise!
Blessings,
Gramps, President Emeritus Eagle Village, Writer of more
than 1100 Gramps Morning Messages.
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