Yesterday was my birthday. I am 66 years old. I can’t believe I was born 66 years ago. That’s a long time. Some of my past is hazy for some reason. I have spotty recollections of my years growing up. I remember I grew up in what would probably be considered a normal middle-class home in Middletown, NJ. I went thru the Middletown public school system and 4 years of college at Montclair State in Northern NJ. I’ve had a pretty good life … no complaints. Went to my fair share of rock concerts and professional sporting events growing up. But the event that has shaped my adult life more than anything else was my decision to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior back in 1979.
It just so happens that I did it on my 24th birthday because I am a guy, and we have this odd tendency to forget important dates in our lives. My walk with the Lord has been a bit of a roller coaster ride at times, but if I’ve learned anything in my life, I’ve learned that no matter how inconsistent I am in my walk, Christ is consistently there, the lone stable force in my life. His unconditional love and grace have kept me sane (for the most part). I’ve learned that no matter what the world is pushing as the next best great thing never really is and that I haven’t missed out on anything. I've been thru some challenging, depressing and very difficult times, largely due to poor decisions I’ve made, yet I stand … stronger in my faith than ever before. I do not look back at what might have been, I look forward at what can be and with God’s help, will be. There is nothing this world has to offer anyone that can top what the Lord freely offers … forgiveness and an eternal home with him.
The world is the devil’s playground and while there are many godly and worthwhile things to enjoy, there is nothing much of any eternal value. God has been very good to me and thru it all I am exceedingly grateful for his mercy and compassion toward me. God has guided me thru this crazy, sin-sick world and even carried me when I couldn’t walk from the weight of what I was dealing with at the time. I am grateful for my wife Kathy, who like God, loves me unconditionally and forevermore. I am grateful for the 7-year-old Dachshund-Black Lab pups that have brought so much joy into our lives. And I am grateful for every one of my 66 years. I wouldn’t change a thing … the highs or the lows … because they are what has helped mold me into the man that stands before you today. I end with this line from a beautiful chorus I know … “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name. Master, Savior Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim. Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away, but there’s something about that name.” I long to “look full in his wonderful face, for the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” Amen. Praise you Jesus … praise you, my Lord.
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
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