I was born and raised in Houston, and life was good. I had great parents and a good family. We attended West End Baptist Church there, and we were “regulars.” I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior as a young boy, though I may not have understood the full gravity of that. But through the years, God has added layers to my understanding. And I believe that I have grown in my faith and understanding.
Melinda (my wife) and I have both grown in our faith. We have made mistakes like all couples do. But, with God’s grace, we have learned and moved on. We have grown in our faith together.
Before we moved to Wimberley, we were active members of First Baptist Church in Houston. I taught a Bible Study class there for 35 years while Melinda was the Preschool Director with 500 children and 100 employees to manage. And we both loved it.
Eventually, Melinda retired, and we moved to our favorite place in the world, Wimberley. We became members of Cypress Creek Church and have loved being members of this part of the body of Christ.
About a year ago, I was attending my 6:00am Thursday morning men’s group at the local EMS Building. As was our custom, we went to breakfast after the class. On this day we chose Durango’s. As we were all eating I had a seizure while sitting at the table. And I passed out. I either fell forward on the table or down on the floor. I don’t really know.
But, thankfully, I was sitting next to Ken Strange, the leader of our Community Group and the Director of the Emergency Medical Service here in Wimberley. He immediately performed CPR on me and was able to resuscitate me. I was taken to the emergency room in San Marcos and, from there, life-flighted to a hospital in Austin.
When I woke up in the hospital in Austin, Melinda was at my side. She asked me if I knew where I was and if I knew what had happened. I nodded, “I think so.” Then I said to her, “I think I am being given one more chance. You and I need to make the most of it.”
Later, Ken Strange confirmed that I was dead for a bit. I don’t know, maybe a minute or two.
To be resurrected means to be brought back to life from death. As a man, I have recently experienced that. As a child of God, I have enjoyed that ride for a long time. God has blessed me and my family our entire lives. There have been hard times, for sure. But, mostly, it has been awesome and filled with one blessing after another. And I can’t wait to see what happens next. That is my resurrection story.