Hello, my friends, this blog space provides you the opportunity to share your stories on your faith journey. This is an important aspect of cultivating your faith (CultivateurFaith). 

Write in your language or dialect; in as few as 100 words or as many as you like. 

I will go ahead and share one of my experiences, taken from my memoir, Cultivating Faith: My Life Experiences (https://a.co/bxqLB2U).

Kept by God

 “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20, KJV). I had my 18th birthday one month after completing my Associate of Science Degree in Agriculture (https://case.edu.jm/). I was the youngest of my graduating class, and I had no prior work experience except for the time spent working on the college farm. What was I going to do? In my mind, I thought my best option was to return to my home, St. Elizabeth, and get a job working on a farm or somewhere else. God had other ideas in mind for my future. 

Out of nowhere, Dr. Robert Logan, who taught me Animal Science during my final semester, told me of an internship opportunity with the Portland Environmental Protection Agency (PEPAhttps://www.facebook.com/PEPAjam/). I accepted the internship, and soon thereafter, the opportunity turned into a full-time job. I received wages, perhaps even higher wages than others in my graduating class with full-time jobs. My income was certainly above the average earnings for my degree level. I was also provided a motorbike, spanking new! The position was quite prestigious, Environmental Education Outreach Officer. My primary responsibility was to coordinate education programs in the schools and various community associations, including educational programs for farmers and fishery groups. The job gave me an opportunity to ride my motorbike through the hills and along the shores of Eastern Jamaica, meeting with elementary and high school students, coffee, banana, plantain, and dasheen farmers, chicken growers, and fishermen. 

After staying at a fellow church member’s home, Canute Myers, for a few weeks, I was offered a furnished apartment located on the Bonnie View hillside. There were fruit trees of every kind in the backyard, with a breathtaking view of the Port Antonio pier. I could see the fishermen, in their one-engine boats, speeding away into the distance. I had views of the gigantic banana and crew ships anchored by the pier. Like before, God made himself evident in nature in a very prominent way. He proved to know my future, where I would live and the food and transportation I would need. My heavenly Father provided for all my sustenance. If we hope and believe in His promises, our future is sure, for His Word is sure. Upon these promises, we can fully trust. 

Life was overwhelmingly smooth, too smooth for a young man; clearly, there were a few lessons to learn. Working at PEPA provided the opportunity to develop my workplace skills, such as reporting to work on time, preparing presentations, speaking to diverse groups of people, and meeting with government representatives. No doubt I was developing as an employee, but how about my relationship with God? He was always there providing and protecting, especially on a motorcycle. I was a youth leader in the Port Antonio Seventh-day Adventist Church, but how about my connection with God? One day He revealed Himself; I was forced to stop and think. 

It was early in the morning, and I was on my way to Kingston to meet with members of the Natural Resource Association, the national environmental agency; the day was clear and cool, little traffic, ideal for top speed, quite exhilarating. I turned left off the Annatto Bay highway, heading toward the hills of St. Andrew. There was a straight stretch of road, two lanes, at least one mile in length. There were banana plantations on both sides of the road, as far as the eyes could see. I was following a very tall truck and could not see around to observe other traffic. In my mind, I felt like I needed to pass the truck before I reached the end of the straight stretch which then turned into a steep corner. If I did not take advantage of the straight stretch to pass, I would likely have to follow behind the truck at a slow speed twisting and turning through the hills towards Kingston. I moved closer to the back bumper of the truck, edging around into the passing lane to determine if I could go for it. I decided I could make the pass, so I made a sharp swerve and engaged the highest gear. The motorbike jumped forward swiftly in response to the increased gas. That was when I heard a distinct cry: “rider no! you can’t make it!” Something, a force out of nowhere moved my bike backward and behind the truck. The cry was of a little boy dressed in khaki pants and shirt on the opposite side of the road. As soon as I was moved behind the truck, immediately a huge bus at top speed passed by going in the opposite direction. I nervously kicked to a lower gear and pulled to the side of the road, shaking like the banana plants hit by the wind from the speeding vehicles. No doubt, I would have been crushed like a bug on the windshield of that bus. But where was the little boy? I looked behind and there was no sign of him. I thought, there wouldn’t have been a little boy walking to school, in the middle of a banana plantation. There was no boy; the boy was an angel, my angel sent from God. My life, in spite of my lack of focus on God, was spared by the hand of God (I found this video on youtube, it gives an idea https://youtu.be/l-0IRW6jpxA). 

With a new job position and my ongoing accumulation of possessions, I forgot my relationship with God. I was caught up in an unprincipled life, living wildly. Though I went to church each week, it was more of a facade; no real purpose, it was just the thing to do. I noted in a previous chapter how God revealed to me the importance of a relationship with Him as precedence to Sabbath-keeping. At the time of the near-death experience, Sabbath-keeping was a ritual to show the world and report to my mom that all was well. But things were far from well; God knew what was going on. This was the lowest spiritual time in my youthful life. I departed from my upbringing, drifted like a speed boat from my God. After that experience on the motorbike on my way to Kingston, I reflected, God spoke to me. “You have seen and experienced what I did for you over the years, how I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you through high school and college; I provided you with a great job and a lavished home. This was to prove to you that you are my own. Now, what has happened? Have you forgotten your first love? Nevertheless, I will keep you, I will protect you from harm and danger, I will do my part. Now it is time for you to choose.” 

Soon thereafter, I chose to leave my first job. My supervisor made it a requirement to attend board meetings on Saturdays. This was a definite no! I attended the first one and was completely out of myself as if the Spirit of God moved away from me. I knew then something had to change. At a subsequent environmental association meeting in Negril, on the western end of the island, I was offered a job, to manage the Falmouth Swamp Safari, an eco-tourism business. I accepted the job. I met friends and formed lifetime relationships in Falmouth, but this was just for one year. 

God brought me back to Portland as General Manager of the Passley Gardens Hatchery. Here, again, Dr. Logan, the current manager, and Paul Forest, a church brother from the Port Antonio Seventh Day Adventist church, though I was a natural fit for the organization. What none of us knew back then, God was still in charge; He was preparing me for His purposes in years to come. The job at the hatchery was huge, with high earnings, entrepreneurial opportunities, and respect in the community. The Lord again provided me with a lavished house, as if He had a sense of humor. The commonalities of His provisions over time were but reminders of His promise. God never changes; He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. The new job held prestige. Pride influenced my heart and mind; I changed. Satan’s influence led me to think about myself rather than others and God. Here again, I never stopped going to church, but lived a careless life. You see, God purposed to make me an example to His people. I truly did not understand. I did not realize that following God was not about what I had, what I could do, and what I accomplished. I had not come to the place in my adult life where I understood following God was putting a priority on what God could have done through me. Life is all about God and what He does, not about me. 

You might be wondering, where was Trena in all this? At the end of my time at CASE, Trena changed colleges and went back to St. Anns. Even though Trena was not around, in Portland, she was never out of my heart. I often wondered if she loved me the way I loved her. Up until that point of time in my life, she was the only girl I felt there was a natural fit. It was as if our spirits were one. One Sabbath, my friend Canute Myers had a speaking appointment at Trena’s church. Trena gave Canute her telephone number and asked for me to call her. I bear the truth, today, God indeed coordinated our reunion to save me from the world. We started talking for hours on the phone each night, spent weekends driving around the island, and reminiscing about our time at college. Trena had completed her degree and was now an elementary school teacher. She was also a Sabbath School teacher at her church. She was loved by all; fortunately for me, she was not loved by another in the way I loved her. We visited with our parents on different sides of the island; soon, only six months later, on July 14th joined together in marriage. We committed to each other for life. There has been no doubt in our minds; this was God’s will. 

Port Antonio, where I lived, was a great community, but my youthful lifestyle in this place needed to be measured and refocused. Through Trena, God brought this refocus into my life. We began thinking about family and the furtherance of our education. For a brief period, we were youth leaders in the Port Antonio Church; then we left for school in the United States. 

During my years in high school and college, God planted His Words in my mind. Deep in my heart, I knew God wanted to take over my very existence. God desired to live through me. For me, because of my tendency to focus on self, this seed could only be cultivated through life experiences. I was born and shaped in iniquity. My propensity was to do wrong and to gravitate towards the things of this world. But God with His mercies purposed for my well-being. The Bible reminds us in 1 Peter 1:23 (KJV), “being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” The seed which God planted within me was incorruptible; the incorruptible seed grows against the natural environment of my sinful heart, against the selfish desires, motives, and priorities of my carnal mind. God’s incorruptible seed empowers the overcoming of my natural corruptible instincts. Verses 22 – 23, “for all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away, but the Word of the Lord endureth forever.” Every person must come to recognize without God we will fade away like the grass or the flowers. Without God, we might achieve the material things of this world, but these things will not last forever; they are temporary. I am ever grateful to God who has cultivated by His Word and the fulfillment of His promises, true contentment in my life. 

While I was living the life of the world, it felt as if I was on a path with no secure return. As if my relationship with God was beyond repair. God knows the beginning from the end; bringing Trena into my life was literal and symbolic. How has my marriage to Trena been symbolic? It symbolizes that God doesn’t go into a person’s life only when it is free from sin; God goes into a person’s life to free the person from sin. God freed my heart from sin, and though there have been times I did not hold on to Him, He without a doubt has held on to me. My heavenly Father kept me from a fatal motorbike accident. He kept me from the things of this world, and He kept me secure in order to fulfill His purposes for my life. Trena, oh yes, she is in full agreement. Read more https://a.co/bxqLB2U