How did I get here?

Thursday night I performed my first wedding since receiving my ministerial license. It was really a stress-free wedding. The bride was very sweet and not demanding at all. The families were friendly. There were no appearances of "Bridezilla" or "Monster-in-law". As weddings go, I suspect that this one might be the easiest and least stressful of all weddings. But as I took my place front and center and watched the procession of parents, attendants, and the bride, I couldn't help but think over my life. I passed through years of working in gas stations, construction supply houses, clothing stores, and my years working in the oilfield, dirty and exhausted. I reflected on long solitary nights in a simple house on the edge of the jungle in South America. I looked back at a time spent in upper management in a large manufacturing operation. I tried to make it all flow to the place I stood, but I couldn't. How did I get to this place? What makes me qualified to pronounce that someone has taken a vow with lifelong consequences? The state of Oklahoma has determined that I am qualified. I can give you the book and page number which records my credentials and declares that I am duly authorized to pronounce "husband and wife". But still I wonder.

Just a few years ago, I would never have imagined that I would be in an outdoor wedding chapel representing God and Oklahoma serving as a guardian of God's covenants and Oklahoma's wedding statutes. I know who I am. I have been with me when I have not acted in a manner befitting a man of God. I know that I react too quickly to provocation. I know that I sometimes make sarcastic comments when I should keep my mouth shut. But I also know, that at 52 years old, I have a deeper commitment to God and the community of believers than I have ever had. I have growing enthusiasm to teach and preach to believers and to share the gospel with those who do not yet believe. And I really expect that moments like Thursday night; moments when I am overwhelmed with the reality of what I am called to do will become commonplace. This season of life is going to be incredible. I think I know generally where I'm headed, but wherever the road leads, it will be cool.