As a young boy in Cleveland, I spent many Saturdays watching wrestling on TV. Bobo Brazil with his thundering drop kicks was my favorite character, and you bet I believed everything I watched was real.

Commercials in between rounds often highlighted used cars for $300, and since we grew up without a car, I could never understand why we couldn't just go buy one. Truth was, my dad worked as a custodian, and my disabled mother scrubbed floors on her knees three days a week, so they felt we just couldn't afford it. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it developed in me a sense of gratitude for what we did have plus a sensitivity towards the less fortunate that influences me greatly to this day.

In 1843 in England, a young man encountered small children digging garbage out of trash cans in the dead of the night scavenging for food. With images seared onto the sensitive photographic plate of his mind, he plunged into a project to communicate creatively the urgency of awakening others to their plight.

He crafted a story highlighting a miserly character that he named Ebenezer Scrooge who would eventually be transformed. His miraculous metamorphosis would impact not only the English people but eventually the entire world. It became a script, debuting in theaters on Christmas Day, and A Christmas Carol continues to influence countless millions to this very day.

What set of circumstances is God currently and providentially using in your life to mold you into the person He destined you to become? As Daniel, Joseph, Moses, David and Job weren't aware of all God was doing in their time, will you trust Him?

Lessons I've Learned

I'm one year shy of my 50th spiritual birthday. I'm almost there, so let me share some significant life lessons I hope will help you.

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