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Circle of Influence: Ron's Faith Journey- Part 2
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Circle of Influence: Ron's Faith Journey- Part 2

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Hi friends!  On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we will continue with the second part of Ron’s faith journey.  For those who prefer to read, today’s content is also posted below.  This part of Ron’s story reminds me of how important it is to take a step back and look at who is in our circle of influence.  It also speaks to the emptiness that can occur when we are unevenly yoked.   Since this is a man’s testimony, Jeff, my husband, will be the voice for Ron’s story again.  If you enjoy this post, please share it with others using the share button below and consider doing a free or paid subscription.  With that, let’s dive into Ron’s story. Enjoy!

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When I was a teenager, I had a very good friend named Craig.  His dad’s name was Pippy.  There were two things that Pippy knew, he knew the Bible and he knew wine.  He worked as a wine connoisseur and traveled the world purchasing wine.  He was a bigger than life kind of guy. 

When Pippy found out about my family situation, he generously opened his home to me.  With that, I waved bye-bye to my family and I sought safety at his home.  I was very grateful that Pippy provided a roof over my head and food to eat.  However, unbeknownst to me, there was something essential that I lacked.  Structure.  I was 14 years old and free. 

I lived with Pippy for about a year, maybe a year and a half, before I moved into an apartment with a friend.  By the time I was 15, I was dabbling in drugs.  I worked at Burger King for about $1.65 per hour, so money was tight.  To get extra spending money, my friend, who had a driver’s license,  drove us down to Cocoa Beach to buy a pound of pot.  When we came back home, we divided it up to sell.  I was never attached to drugs; I simply needed a way to help make ends meet.

Once again, my grandfather stepped back into my life to help.  He called me to his house one day and asked me if I wanted a job.  I asked him if he meant a “real job” and he said, “Yes.”  I agreed. 

Granddaddy worked for the federal government and introduced me to this guy at the post office that had a job available.  It was crazy.  I was only 17 and granddaddy got me a job making $4.99 an hour.  In 1974 that was good money.  My father wasn’t even making $4.99 an hour!  I stopped dealing pot because I no longer needed the extra money as part of my income.  Besides, if I got caught, I knew I would have lost my job with the government.  It was not worth the risk.  Thanks to my granddaddy, I had an opportunity to change my life.  That job at the post office became my working career for decades.

During that time, I met this Italian girl named Maria.  Unfortunately, she was dating someone else.  Despite that fact, I still kind of kept my eye on her from the very beginning.  After she and her boyfriend broke up, I went into hot pursuit after her.  We began dating and I loved her.  I even loved the smell of fried chicken that wafted around her from being in her family’s restaurant!  When I was around 18 years old, I asked her to marry me. 

Although I proposed, we did not get married right away.  Maria was afraid to tell her mom that she was dating a guy that wasn’t Italian.  So, we dated on the sly for a long time.  Finally, I kind of weaseled my way into her family.  Over time they realized I was okay.  Once I was in good standing with her family, I sat down with her dad over a bottle of whiskey and asked him for her hand in marriage.  He said, “Yes.”  

Maria and I had a huge Catholic wedding downtown.  Her parents were not rich people, but for their daughter’s wedding they went all out.  In order to marry her, I had to become Catholic.  Prior to our wedding, I went through the classes and was confirmed.  That was how I went from being saved and baptized in a Baptist Church to becoming Catholic. 

When I was around 21, Maria gave birth to our first child, Christian.  Our daughter, Angie, was born about 18 months later.  Then after another four years Maria became pregnant with our son Nick.  By that time in my life, I had fully embraced the Catholic Church.  I actually met some charismatic Catholics.  I know, it’s hard to believe that there is such a thing!  They were born-again Catholics that saw their mission field as reaching Catholics for Jesus.  

In this group of born-again Catholics, I recognized a freedom that I had not experienced before and certainly didn’t have up to that point.  I fully embraced it.  I got involved, had new experiences, such as seeing people speaking in tongues, and the people and community were great.  Since this church was still within the boundaries of the Catholic Church, I remained good with Maria’s family. 

Maria, on the other hand, did not approve of this group.  She thought they were all a bunch of kooks.  It was not just the born-again Catholics though; Maria was never on board with any of it.   Although she was born and baptized Catholic, she was not interested in it.  With her, getting involved in any kind of church was a struggle, but this was even harder. 

Church became a contentious topic.  Maria began putting her foot down.  She said, “I’m not into this church stuff.”  Even though I liked the church, I wasn’t man enough and strong enough in my faith at the time to stick it out.  It may sound crazy, but it created a tipping point in our marriage. 

For a long time, we went back to what felt like Nothingville.  Sin began to enter in, and it only took a little bit.  The next thing I knew I was looking around at other people’s lives.  I had a friend that was divorced and it seemed like he had a great life.  At first, we started playing golf together.  It seemed harmless, but then we began to leave on Friday and wouldn’t come back until Sunday.  I look back and it was a crazy thing that I did, but I did.  I take full responsibility for it.  Maria had her demons too, but I had my part as well.    

Eventually, I made the single biggest mistake I ever made in my life.  When my children were still young, Christian was maybe 15, Angie was around 12, and Nick was under 10, I decided to flee my marriage.  I honestly believed that it was not going to impact my kids too much.  I knew I had been a good father.  I was there for everything.  I coached football, baseball, and was at every gymnastic event Angie was ever in.  I thought if I left it may be a shock and perhaps a little rough for the kids at first, but I somehow believed they would get over it and it would be fine.

With nowhere to go, I moved out to this little cabin on a lake that a friend of mine owned.  It was out in Interlachen, over an hour away from Jacksonville.  Every day I would take that long drive for work.  Perhaps if I had not found a place to go things would have been different, but who is to know.

Once I left, Maria and I began a painful divorce.  There were a lot of lawyers and a lot of money spent.  It was bitter and ugly, as bad as it could get.  It wasn’t as much leaving their mom that was the huge mistake, it was the consequences of my selfishness of walking away.  The collateral damage that it did to my children was horrific.  Even 30 years later they’re still injured and recovering.  They are still dealing with issues in their life because of my decision.  I never foresaw that level of hurt.

After our divorce, it would be years before my life would move forward in a significant way again.

To be continued.

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