A Glimpse Into My Life… Pt. IV

The double life I played when I was a teen…

Every Sunday I went to church, listened to the amazing Word, and then enjoyed my time with our church’s youth group afterword.  We would help in communities throughout the East side of Indy, do charitable work, and do fun things like car washes to raise money so our youth group could continue helping the community.  I loved my church.  I loved God.  I was baptized, so I could follow in the footsteps of my Lord, and spread His Word to everyone that I meet.

Every Wednesday I would join the youth club at our school and praised God before going to my first class.  We would sing.  We would pray.  We would share stories on how we found our path to Jesus Christ.  We were a small community within a community, but we cared for one another, and we were there for one another.  I was even part of the track and field teams throughout Middle School and High School to live a healthy life… I even had perfect attendance from 4th Grade through Senior year of High School.

But the hidden truth… I didn’t follow Jesus Christ as I should had.  I didn’t try to live the life that he wanted us to.  I hadn’t found my path to Him.  I was a lost soul that was just enjoying life and doing every single dumb thing that I could do as a teen…

Outside of the church/religious crowd, I was a different person.  A scary person even.  Cursing was in daily conversations.  I listened to music that would even make Dr. Martin Luther King a mad man.  I had a group/gang that, no matter what, stood up for each other, and we had a secret code of conduct (if you will…).  I stole.  I had sexual relationships.  I smoked cigarettes.  I smoked marijuana.  I drank alcohol.  I stayed out sooooo late that you were probably getting out of bed when I was going to bed.

My life was a mess.  My life was crazy.  And… my life was starting to do the one thing that I didn’t want my life to do… merge both personalities.

Anyone that knows me now would say that I am a sweet, loving man that enjoys friendships and family.  That my life is healthy.  That I love to help others (therapeutically) , and enjoy partaking in events that help the community around me.  I am very inappropriate and borderline rude. lol.  I say, more or less, what is on my mind.  I am shy to some extent, but I am also very patient and caring.  I am a very emotional person that has been hurt with events in my life, but each and every day I try to move past these events and becoming a stronger man.

What happened between my teenager years and my younger adult life…

I was almost arrested… at a Marsh Supermarkets near 75th Street and Shadeland Ave.  The manager caught me stealing a box of condoms, that I was getting for a friend, just so I could have a blunt and a drink.  I was what they call: Young and Dumb.  That manager, even thought very happy to have caught me, did something that shocked me.  I haven’t told anyone about this… not even my parents… He talked to me.  Asked me why I was doing it? Asking me what I was going to benefit in life with my choices that I have been making?  Told me he was going to pray for me and my parents that I’ll come out of this a better man.  They say reality smacks you in the face, and it definitely did.

I had a few bumps in the road after this… but that is life.  We are all, everyday, trying to figure out how to live this life.  I still, to this day, haven’t found my “path to Jesus” nor live in His footsteps… However, I am much more behaved in the life I am living now than it was 10-15 years ago.  I do believe in God.  I do believe in Jesus Christ.  I love every person in this World, and I care for each and every person that I am introduced to…

To say that my life has been saved… may be a bit of a stretch… But to say this manager saved my life… is the truth.

To Be Continued…

robert1ee