Some things can’t be rushed.
Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2015 by
Preston's journey to God is a clear example of this. During his middle school years, he and I began hanging out in coffee shops and he would ask me any and all questions about God, emphatic about his personal disbelief in him. Yet God tugged at his heart and Preston turned to eventually believed in Him. Through middle and high school, he struggled with drug and alcohol addictions and the heartbreak of trying and failing to escape that lifestyle through treatment. But as I think back on the last seven years I've known Preston, I have more memories of him than just the difficulties. I have memories of him winning cross country meets, asking me for advice about girls, caring for his little sister whom he adores, and reading his poetry that was deeply profound and insightful.
Preston's highs and lows are vivid, but everything in between is playing a part in who he's becoming. His story continues to turn around. Recently, he asked me about baptism. I asked him why he wanted to be baptized and this is what he wrote:
"I am having a hard time finding the words. I have learned what the work of God is. I want to live by the truth and be with God's people. I'm not sure if I was ever baptized at birth and I crave my relationship with Jesus. I want it to be public and I want to follow the words til the day I die."
I'm not the author of Preston's story. If I was, my impatience would have rushed the process. In doing so, I would have missed out on being a witness of his journey and of the evidence of God who truly is orchestrating Preston's life into a beautiful masterpiece.
Trey Ottley
Campus Life