One may think life is set by God from birth to death, and one has little choice but to act the part as all is foreordained. Does God desire one to be in perfect accord with His plans? Some may say people have free will. Does God force or persuade? Some leading characters of the Bible, Moses for example, were not ready from the start to do God’s will. In a sense, when Moses was fleeing God was preparing him to become the one to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.
My rural raising
While I might have started life in a farm family and we were considered poor, I agree with Dad – Neal Justus – that we were rich in our habitat in the Blue Ridge Mountains. On a leave home from the Air Force one autumn, in helping Dad dig Irish potatoes he paused to rest and waved at the beautiful autumn colors on Big Face Mountain. He said when many men in our area took their families to work in automobile plants up north he chose to remain in this lovely valley. He could not bear to leave the mountains and such beauty.
Dad chose to tough it out and rear his family on the farm and in the valley where he began life. Thus, when I left family and the farm life I left a lovely valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Here the people were poor but the valley farms had rich soil from which to grow much of their food and feed for livestock. No one in my immediate family tree took my course in life. The trend of my life led to many parts of our nation and to far countries.
In those years the small church in our valley was both a place of worship and a school. I spent the first five grades in this school and learned so much that when I started school in Clayton I was tested and assigned to the 7th grade. If I did poorly in the future, I’d blame the missing 6th grade I never attended.
Faith and Florine
I am giving the rural background to say that the foundation of my life was formed in those years among Christian country folks and in my attending Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland. Besides the education benefits, I met Florine, who was also reared in a farm family in Banks County, Georgia. She had a year to go after I left there and entered the Air Force, where I was soon to go to the Korean War.
At first I had doubts and thought Florine and I may not stay in touch since she had another year at the college. While my faith was not the strongest I know now God had a plan to keep us together. It took time for me to know it. In fact, we married and led a military life for over 20 years, requiring frequent moves and long separations. Amy, our only child, was born as a military brat at a military hospital near Denver, Colorado. Twice, going to Korea and Vietnam, we were separated for a year each time.
Now I see that Florine was necessary in my life because she had faith in God, had patience and loyalty, and possessed a strong character. She also put up with my desire for the great outdoors, hunting and fishing and travel. I loved the west and she spent years with me in Texas, Colorado, Iowa and other areas across the United States. One may say all these happenings were accidental and God just observed them. I do know God loves us and He gives us a lot of leeway in our lives. Thankfully, God does not give up. I finally saw He was nearby along life’s seemingly accidental or wandering trail.
