What Might Have Been
Tonight we had a guest speaker come speak to our students. His name is Randy Au (pronounced "Awe"). He is the senior agent on former president Bush, Sr.'s security detail here in Houston. He attended Harding and is a friend of one of my youth deacons. Randy began by sharing some insight into his life in the secret service. He told stories of kicking in doors and shoving shotguns in "dirtbags" faces; standing post at the door of the oval office the day Clinton was impeached; flying on Air Force One AND Two. Every guy in that room had the look on their face of a boy at his first memorable big league ball game.
It made me reflect on the path of life I ALMOST chose. In high school I took several classes designed to prepare students for a career in law enforcement. I wanted to be in federal law enforcement of some kind - most likely U.S. Marshall's or the Secret Service. I attended a weekend police training for students interested in law enforcement at the local JuCo. I would watch movies about the FBI or other government agency and ask myself, "Okay, how much of that is REALLY true?" I knew what I wanted to be: a guy with a gun and a badge.
I remember the day that changed. I was driving to school one morning and took a different route because traffic was "bad" in Odessa that morning. I took a road that went directly past my church and as I drove past I found myself longing to be at church. I was confused at that reaction and realized I felt that longing because I liked the "Cory" at church more than the "Cory" at school. I didn't want to be school-Cory, I wanted to be church-Cory that day. "What better way to ensure that I will always be church-Cory," I thought, "than by giving my life to Jesus in ministry?"
I still wonder from time to time what life would have been like had I gone to A&M to pursue a business degree, headed off to a training facility somewhere on the east coast, and landed a job staking out bad guys, storming crack houses, and chasing fugitives. I don't regret my choice for a moment, though. Ministry is where I MUST be, where I am called to be, and where I long to be. I'm content experiencing the other world only through the stories of guys like Randy Au.
It made me reflect on the path of life I ALMOST chose. In high school I took several classes designed to prepare students for a career in law enforcement. I wanted to be in federal law enforcement of some kind - most likely U.S. Marshall's or the Secret Service. I attended a weekend police training for students interested in law enforcement at the local JuCo. I would watch movies about the FBI or other government agency and ask myself, "Okay, how much of that is REALLY true?" I knew what I wanted to be: a guy with a gun and a badge.
I remember the day that changed. I was driving to school one morning and took a different route because traffic was "bad" in Odessa that morning. I took a road that went directly past my church and as I drove past I found myself longing to be at church. I was confused at that reaction and realized I felt that longing because I liked the "Cory" at church more than the "Cory" at school. I didn't want to be school-Cory, I wanted to be church-Cory that day. "What better way to ensure that I will always be church-Cory," I thought, "than by giving my life to Jesus in ministry?"
I still wonder from time to time what life would have been like had I gone to A&M to pursue a business degree, headed off to a training facility somewhere on the east coast, and landed a job staking out bad guys, storming crack houses, and chasing fugitives. I don't regret my choice for a moment, though. Ministry is where I MUST be, where I am called to be, and where I long to be. I'm content experiencing the other world only through the stories of guys like Randy Au.
posted by CoryJones at 11:54 PM
1 Comments:
Wow Cory, if I'm not mistaken, I grew up going to church with Randy in Michigan. What a small world.
- Holly Davis (WHCC)
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