My Compelling Life

I have never thought of my life as anything, but average, (and perhaps a bit boring)

…until.

Well, until I began writing my internet blog; just over a year ago. Since then I have literally written (drum roll) 40 (count ‘em) 40 100 page volumes! And since then, I no longer consider my life, up ‘til now, as anything but compelling!

Perhaps by the time I finish this rendition, you will agree.

VOCATIONS?

Well, I’ve had plenty of ‘em. Going on 70 now, (and still employed) I’ve ‘tried my hand’ at just short of 50; (most prior to the age of 30).

Magazine seller. Agricultural laborer. Phosphate miner. Airman. Soldier. Insulation bagger. Subway builder. Asphalt layer. Army Civil Service - clerk. Air Force Civil Service - clerk. Electric plant - clerk. Shoe store manager. Coca-cola bottler. UPS delivery man. Ordained Minister. Children’s Pastor. Associate Pastor. Substitute Teacher. Counselor. Adjunct Professor - University. Human Resources Manager. And the list goes on, and on, and on. (And then I decided to grow up)!

GEOGRAPHICS?

Lived in:

Florida. Virginia. Maryland. Pennsylvania. Texas. Mississippi. Alabama. 

Vacations in:

West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Colorado, California, Ontario and the Bahamas. 

God willing, before I die, I simply must visit some or all of my ancestral homes. (And yes, I think of each and every one of them this way). 

England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, France, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Israel, Morocco and Nigeria. (What a rich combination of places and people)!

MIRACLES?
 
I’ve seen a few. (Well, more than a few)

The instantaneous healing of my son’s crossed eyes. Five or more death defying events in which I should have, in all fairness, been taken from this world; including a vehicular rollover, and a near miss by the 20 ton steel bucket of a dragline! The invisible hand on my shoulder whose perceived weight remained throughout the course of an hour. The momentary visitation of an angel. (I kid you not). The eternal salvation of my father, at the grand old age of 86; only weeks before his passing. A moment of grace in which my mother, having succumbed to the so-called ‘death rattle,’ suddenly experienced a few minutes of lucidness in which we spoke to one another, prior to her having fallen asleep, the resumption of that painful noise, and, ultimately, being ushered into the presence of her Lord.

IMPACT?

My favorite of all possible variables

*Lives on the razors edge of abject and irrevocable hopelessness, stagnation or dysfunction, and the inestimable privilege to intervene. 

Mutilation. Suicidal Ideation. Molestation. Anorexia. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. Self-Esteem. Codependent Behavior. Mood Disorders. Personality Disorders. Premarital Counseling. Child & Adolescent Counseling. Marriage & Family Issues. Divorce. Grief Counseling. Vocational Counseling. Goal Setting. Support Groups. Mentoring. 

Codependent mothers. Abusive husbands. Abused wives. Adolescent children systematically molested by a father or mother. A young lady, HIV Positive and pregnant who, as the result of counseling, chose to bear her child, and died several years thereafter. Clients who chose the most desperate course of action. Medicinal overdose, Hanging, Vehicular suicide; and having chosen their method, and taken the action, each and every one miraculously salvaged, and who are alive and well today. Formerly addicted men and women; clean and free. A myriad of students, clients and interns with faulty mindsets; who learned to ‘break cycles.’ Fathers and Mothers who learned to say ‘No,’ after having said ‘Yes’ one too many times. ‘Cutters’ who surrendered their knives, and who, in the future, relegated such instruments to cooking. Marriages salvaged. Children born; who would have remained little more than a figment. Depressive adolescents and adults who through the intervention of counseling and the administration of medication found a way to live out functional lifestyles. Women who finally grasped their own self- worth and stepped away from the physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse with which they had borne far too long. 

*Opportunities to contribute to the preparation and maturity of the young and old as they surrendered their will to the will of the Creator.

Challenging mediocre Christians to a life of spiritual excellence.

The young and not so young among us who grasped, and, ultimately, embraced the concept of Heritage, Destiny & Legacy.

Assisting undergrad and grad students in their academic pursuits.

Raising up and sending ministers and missionaries; (and I am grateful to have been used in such a noble pursuit).

Recognizing my students are living messages to a time that I will never see; they who will assume my mantle and wear it with honor.

How utterly and inestimably rich I am!

How blessed and privileged I have become!

What a compelling life I have lived!

 By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 40. Copyright pending

If you wish to copy, share or save this blog, please include the credit line, above
**************
If you would like to see the titles and access hundreds of my blogs from 2015, do the following:  

Click on 2015 in the index to the right of this blog. When my December 31st blog, "The Shot Must Choose You" appears, click on the title. All my 2015 blog titles will come up in the index