part 2 of 3 for howardgee
The first time I felt God tug on my heart was when I was in the Navy and a Mormon was witnessing to me and my friends. Nothing he said stayed with me, I couldn’t tell you one story he told, but once when I walked into the galley I saw him as he sat down to eat, he bowed his head and prayed over his meal. For the first time I can ever recall he was someone who I thought really believed what he was saying and ordered his life to reflect it, but that was as far as that went.
The next time God really got my attention I was still in the Navy and had gotten myself into a lot of trouble, I said one of those, “God, if you get me out of this..." prayers. I asked God to show me a sign that He was going to get me out of it before He did so I knew it was him. What I asked for came true and then I got out of the trouble I was in. Someone came and invited me to a church during this, and I went got baptized and was faithful one whole weekend, before I slid back to my old ways. I did start talking to God after that off and on, but nothing life changing as far as wanting to give up the things I thought were pleasurable and inportant to me at the time.
Shortly after I got out of the Navy I went to my old home town and I met a friend of mine I used to get high with while in high school, he and his brother had both become Spirit filled Christians and have turned away from the way they were, I was impressed, mainly because I didn’t think his brother was going to make through his 20’s let alone get his life together like he had. It was interesting, and now I had a nagging feeling that God was calling me that was fairly strong now.