Psalm 78:6, New American Standard Bible

“So that the generation to come would know, even the children yet to be born, That they would arise and tell them to their children.”

He is with me every step of the way (Part Two)

When I was twelve, my dad got a work transfer, a three hour drive away. That stopped their weekly nightclub, and my weekly Christian influence. I was on my own finding a church I could get to by myself, walking, or by bus, with parental permission. Surprisingly, I was always allowed to go when I found something, but none of those churches were anything like I was used to. I didn’t even know what denomination I was, or that there were different ones. I was always disappointed with the churches I found. I didn’t understand a lot of things, I just knew that I loved Jesus, and I couldn’t seem to find anyone else who did.

Oh! I didn’t mention that it was “The Church Of God” that grandma went to–she was my Sunday School teacher. Full Pentecostal, pretty close to the “Holy Roller” type that was always made fun of. Plenty of shouting, clapping, singing, and even some speaking in tongues. Of course, I never understood any of this. Quite a big difference from the Methodist and Baptist Churches I found in Ironton, Ohio.

My thirteenth year was the hardest I had ever experienced at that point. We had left a 100-acre farm with animals that I loved, my grandma, the church and the best friend I ever had from school; I even had to leave my dog. We left all of that good stuff to be plopped down in a crummy little town called Ironton. I refer to it as the armpit of America. The kids were cruel to me because I was forced to wear 1960s-style clothing, which my then-new aunt donated to me, in 1974! I have what is considered to be a unique name which had always been a hurdle, and to them, I talked funny. This was also my first exposure to people of color, which in my world, turned out to be friendlier than my Caucasian peers. So then, I was also considered a “nigger lover.”

Thank God we were only there for two years! I seriously might not have survived another year. I had always been shy before, but I became very introverted during this time. My depression was off the charts, and nobody seemed to understand or know how bad it was for me. I really had no friends there. It didn’t help that I was also an extremely well developed thirteen-year-old. 

Throughout my childhood, I mostly always felt close to God. I would feel great conviction when I started to stray, but never smoked, or did drugs. I tried cursing a little, but that just didn’t sit well either. In middle school (7th and 8th grade), when kids would verbally challenge me, I always seemed to come out on top without swearing at them like they did me. I think it confused them that I rarely used bad language. I was also referred to as "goody two shoes.”

Please come back next week to read, “He is with me every step of the way” (Part Three)