THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS

It's been a very strange and very difficult two months for me. I worked two jobs just to catch up at two places at opposite ends of each other's geography and there were times that I thought there was no way that I was going to make it. I drove on bad tires and had a check engine light glowing. I made rent by the skin of my teeth--two months in a row! But God has me in his hand s and He just demonstrated it to me again last night and this morning when a financial problem resolved itself and while I am not out of the woods, at least the trees aren't crashing in on me. Sometimes I get so frightened that like Saint Peter, I lose my faith. I had a great roommate once when I lived in Hacienda Heights for about six and a half years. This was where I met my amazing friend Tim Doran. I simply would not be a songwriter without this amazing and wonderful composer.What a blessing and a miracle he has been for all of these many years! But it was here also where I met Jaimie. We roomed together in a big five bedroom house! I really loved this guy a lot-- he was so helpful to me over the years! I haven't seen in almost eleven years. What challenges that poor man endured. He was once robbed in his church's parking lot-- on his way to the service. That didn't stop him. He worked harder than any individual I have ever met. Challenging debts? This poor man who was a painter before he found his great job with the railroad had to hide and park his car around the corner from where we lived to avoid having his car repossessed. What a trooper! I panic far too often and I shouldn't. I need to realize that my Sweet Lord, Jesus and our heavenly father always have me in their hands. Like Saint Peter crossing the turbulent sea, I need to focus on the Lord and don't be distracted by troubles. Every time I panicked, dear Jaimie used to say to me "You're looking at the waves again!" How many of us do? I need to get my faith polished and realize that the Good Lord is always going to be there for me, if I ask Him to be. I continue the certification process on my way to becoming a car salesman --this time only six miles from my apartment. It is really tough learning about all of these Ford cars, but then, I''ve been driving Fords almost all of my life-- well at least since 1980. And that's thirty years. I am so happy I did not land at a Toyota dealership. This is not the time to be one of those. God is the center of my life and I simply need to trust Him more and more!