Simply Telling My Story (ePub)

This is a simple account of a pastor's life, love, and discovery of beauty through his marriage and family relationships. It is also a candid account of his journey of faith - the bumpy, spiritual road, the transparent reflection of his own life in the light of his marriage, family, friends, and ministry, and also spiritual growth in his faith, devotion, and trust in Jesus Christ.

There are two parts to the book. The first has to do with his life - his school days, romance, the call of God, marriage, parenting, and trials in life.

The second has to do with his personal reflections of life and living - his musings about life in particular, society, and the church in general. These are the reflections of just an ordinary man trying to make sense under the sun for a brief span of three score and ten! He tries to be serious, paradoxical and comical at times but many times he turns out to be a cynic in essence - to the world, his country, fellow pilgrims of faith and himself! He takes life seriously. He thinks deeply about the issues affecting life. He spends time sharpening his faith by philosophically pondering, meditating and reflecting on a pragmatic action plan to live life before God without leaving his ivory tower of intellectualism.

Even though he has spent his entire life as a cleric with a brief span of out-in-the-cold rebellion, he still struggles with his profession! What a dilemma for his inner soul! He will freely admit that he wished he'd resigned every other Monday! Of course, there were times of great joy and satisfaction in serving the Lord and seeing results; there were many times of mountaintop experiences that he would not trade with anyone. It would be a sin not to admit that he basically enjoyed the work and ministry that God put him in all these years. Yes, he would not trade it for anything else. Yes, he would gladly sacrifice everything to do it all over again. Yet, it doesn't take away the many emotional struggles of quitting, of retiring and disappearing into thin air, never to see another soul again! It's a paradox of this cleric's soul and spirit.

Perhaps it is the demand of relationships, discipleship and leading that causes such emotional upheaval in one's heart. Relationships can be demanding, can be a strenuous pursuit and a costly asset to keep and to maintain. One has to constantly attend to it, to constantly appraise it and to constantly monitor its health.