While in Springfield, MO, and still not attending the Bible college that led me there, I also started working on a farm (another way to stay fit). On the way to the farm everyday I had to pass Ebenezer Fire Rescue, a volunteer fire department in a VERY small populated area.
I had very few adventures there, and it wasn't long before I decided to continue my studies in Oklahoma City, studying to be a minister. But I can say for sure, that the little taste I got of being a fireman did something good for me. I felt like a "hero" even if I never saved a life, sprayed water on a fire, or rescued a toddler from a burning building. For that matter, I never got a cat out of a tree or anything!
While in Oklahoma, I even got distracted for a while and spent time training and studying in order to take the test to get on the Oklahoma Fire Department. I did okay in the exams, but not good enough among thousands trying out and only 2 selected. Anyway, it was a good experience, and got me running and working out again. In fact it was shortly after this experience that I started reading about marathons and ultra endurance events. I had received a taste for pushing myself, being ultra fit, and going the distance very few ever dare to go.
But the main lesson I learned was this. God had called me to be a firefighter of a different sort. Although I continued to train and run, I began to realize there are eternal souls that need to be saved from the flames of hell. Although firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses...all deserve kudos for the path they have chosen, there is nothing more important than the calling to be a preacher. It is one I don't deserve, one that I am not particularly talented in, but one to which I owe every ounce of my being. May it be said of me when I die that I was a hero of the faith.
Lord help me do more and be more for You!
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